Diane Kay (Oldenburg) Nyhof passed quietly into heaven’s light on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, surrendering to the long-term effects of dementia and physical failings of her mortal shell.
Being born to Harry and Grace Oldenburg on Oct. 13, 1937, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and after graduating from Alger High School, she attended Hope College in Holland, Mich. where she met her life-long love, Rev. Harlan P. Nyhof. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Minor in Music from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, they married on June 22, 1960, and moved to Monroe, S.D. Harlan was then serving as pastor to the local Reformed Church, and Diane began her career not just as A teacher, but rather as THE teacher, serving the rural prairie community in a one-room schoolhouse for pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade.
As they moved between calls to different churches in the mid-west, Rev. and Mrs. Nyhof had three sons: Scott Harlan, born in South Dakota, Paul Jeffrey born in Wilmar, Minn., and David Alan, born in Waterloo, Iowa. After moving the family from the mid-west to the Catskill Mountains in New York State in February 1976, Rev. Nyhof served three rural parish churches (Claryville, Grahamsville, and Woodbourne) simultaneously. Mrs. Nyhof resumed her teaching career in the late 1970’s, working initially as a substitute teacher in Sullivan County, New York, eventually returning as a full-time teacher in 1980 at Tri-Valley Central Schools. After earning her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from SUNY New Paltz, she taught fifth grade at TVCS through Spring 2000. After retirement, she and Rev. Nyhof moved from Grahamsville to Warwick, N.Y., where they would live in peace the remainder of their days.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Harry George Oldenburg and Grace Katherine (Lyon) Oldenburg; brother Garry Alan Oldenburg and his wife Cherie Nan; and her husband Rev. Harlan P. Nyhof. She was also preceded in death by her daughter-in-law, Rosemary (Kuszak) Nyhof, late wife of Paul Jeffrey.
Neither of Diane’s parents, Harry, nor her mother Grace, had siblings. Similarly, there were no children in the marriage between Garry and Cherie Oldenburg. As such, while growing up Diane never knew the first-hand experience of a larger extended family that would include cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, or nieces. Only through her marriage to Harlan would blessings of a larger family join her life.
Even though she suspended her teaching career from 1963 until the late 1970’s to raise her family, she dutifully served her husband’s churches as the minister’s wife. These duties included being the backup church pianist, record keeper for 311 baptisms, too many funerals, and 213 weddings, serving as interim coordinator for many. Her professional career as an educator spanned 25 years, positively affecting the lives of more than 500 pupils while in her charge.
Later in life her hobbies and interests included genealogical research into her and her husband’s families, gardening and “puttering” in the flowers, several trips abroad, such as cruises and land tours throughout Europe and North America, and spending January and February in central Florida to avoid deep winter in the northeast. Her true hobby, along with that of her husband Harlan, was their grandchildren, Adam Paul and Megan Courtney. There was precious little that Harlan and Diane would not do if the grandchildren could be included in the plans. Diane and Meghan were like “two peas in a pod”, like Harlan and Adam before.
Diane is survived by all three of her sons: Scott H. and Susan L. Gardner-Nyhof, Paul J. Nyhof, and David A. Nyhof and Elizabeth H. Abbott. She is most proudly survived by her grandson, Adam Paul Nyhof, son of Paul Jeffrey and Rosemary Nyhof, and granddaughter Meghan Courtney Nyhof, daughter of David Alan. She is also survived by several in-laws through her late husband, Harlan, along with 11 nieces and nephews.
Visitation for family and friends is set for Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Ave., Warwick, N.Y. The family will also receive friends from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at the Warwick Reformed Church, 16 Maple Ave., Warwick, prior to the 10:00 a.m. service there. Interment will follow in Warwick Cemetery, 50 Oakland Ave., Warwick. Diane will be interred next to her husband Harlan Paul for their eternal rest. A livestream feed of the funeral service will be available on the funeral home website for those who cannot attend the service in-person.
Diane was a strong believer in the education and health of children. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Warwick Reformed Church through their website: www.warwickreformed.church/.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Ave., Warwick, N.Y. 10990. To send an online condolence, log onto www.lsvpmemorialhome.com.