Diana Durkin Belt

Diana Belt passed away June 6, 2023 at the age of 76 from an extended battle with Alzheimer’s disease.  Diana was the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Loeffler) Durkin.  Diana was the third of eleven children (9 girls and 2 boys) and is survived by her siblings, Mary Jo Kamper, Barbara Loftis, Marcia Iannacone, Thomas Durkin, Sandra Durkin and Maureen Arnold.  She was preceded in death by her brother, Dennis Durkin, and sisters Janet Durkin, Kathy Bendel, and Virginia Ingoldsby. 

Diana, who was nicknamed “Dee”, grew up on Elgin Street in Shadyside Pennsylvania and attended high school at Sacred Heart. Majoring in Art Education, she graduated in 1968 from Mount Mercy College, which is now Carlow College. 

Diana was deeply devoted to Family, God, Art, and Education throughout her life.  She was blessed with four tremendously handsome sons Donald Belt, Christopher Belt, Gregory Belt and Michael Belt and daughter-in-laws Lisa Belt, Janice Belt, Katherine Belt, and Kimberly Belt.  As the family expanded, she was nicknamed “Mimi” and spent as much time as possible with her eleven grandchildren: Donald, Henry, Christopher, Maxwell, Kiersten, Owen, Gwyneth, Caroline, Kaylie, Parker, and Ryder.  Diana loved to attend their various activities, teach them art, and spend countless hours playing trains, dinosaurs, dolls, and games.  She also cared for Duke, a Labrador/Collie mix, who was a handful but brought love and comfort to the family.

Diana taught art for eleven years at Holy Sepulcher School, seeking to pass along the joy and beauty of art to young students.  She had an amazing capacity to love every student and make them feel special.  She had a passion to paint with watercolors and shared that gifted artwork with many family and friends. One of her favorite places in the world, where she had visited from a child, was ‘The Lake House’, located on Catawba Island in Ohio. 

Diana lived a life of faith, devoting time to prayer, reading scripture, and serving others with a loving heart.

The family will receive visitors on Thursday, June 8 from 2:00 – 4:00pm and 6:00 – 8:00pm at McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home 238 Crowe Ave. Mars, PA .  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 am on Friday, June 9 at Holy Sepulcher Church followed by the entombment at Holy Savior Catholic Cemetery in Gibsonia PA and a Celebration of Life gathering. 

In lieu of flowers and given Diana’s challenging battle with Alzheimer’s, friends and family are encouraged to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association at 2835 East Carson Street, Suite 200, Pittsburgh PA 15203 or ALZ.org/donate.