Sybil Reid Bothwell Diehl, 95, of Lenexa, KS, passed away in her home on May 30, 2020. Sybil was born December 27, 1924, in Newburyport, MA, one of six children of James and Anna Bothwell, immigrants from Ireland. She is survived by her brother Richard Bothwell, her son Paul Diehl, her daughter Pamela Diehl Michel and husband Leo Michel, her daughter Brenda Diehl Gast and husband Lawrence (Skip) Gast, her son James (Jim) Diehl, her grandchildren Laurie Diehl Komnik and husband Dan Komnik, Julia and Chloe Michel, James Diehl and wife Kendra Diehl, and their children Briella, Kyla, Kaston, and Breckley.
A June 1942 graduate of Newburyport High School, Sybil received her nursing degree from Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Nursing School in Boston, where she subsequently worked as a surgical nurse. As World War II was underway, she sought out new challenges. She became a Cadet Nurse at Chelsea Naval Hospital outside Boston, and then moved to a hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, where, she later recalled, her male patients constantly teased her about her New England accent. There she met her future husband, Antoni (Toni) Mills Diehl, a pediatric cardiologist from Minneapolis, MN, in February 1948. They married on September 7, 1948, and honeymooned at the Harold and Julia Mills Diehl family cabin on Star Island, Cass Lake, MN. During their first two years of marriage, they lived in Minneapolis, where Sybil nursed polio patients at the University of Minnesota Hospital, and had their first child, Paul, in 1950. Later that year, Toni was called into active duty with the Navy, and the family moved to Great Lakes Naval Base, IL, where Pamela was born in 1951. Toni and Sybil moved to the Kansas City area in 1953, where Toni became the head of pediatric cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). Their first home was in Prairie Village, KS, where Brenda was born in 1954 and Jim in 1956. The Diehls moved in 1973 to Lenexa, KS, where their new home "in the country” bordered pasture land that reminded Sybil of growing up with dairy cows outside her home in Newburyport.
Sybil loved nature. She especially enjoyed watching birds, deer, and foxes from her bedroom window. Sybil and Toni loved to travel, including family trips to US national parks and, in their later years, visits to Ireland, Brazil, China, Thailand, Guatemala, and Switzerland. Sybil, like Toni, who passed away in September 2015, cared deeply about her community. They joined the Village Presbyterian Church in 1953, where Sybil sang in the choir directed by Istvan Gladics, joined the church mission sewing group and a women's church circle, volunteered as a parish nurse (checking blood pressure for worshipers between services), and visited church members who were home-bound or in nursing homes. Even into her late 80s, Sybil volunteered together with Toni at the Village Church Food Pantry. For many years, she baked cookies for the Cross-Lines community service organization, and was a hostess for donors during blood drives at the church. For 20 years, Sybil also volunteered at KUMC, taking the hospital shop cart to patients' rooms and doing her best to lift their spirits. Sybil was a member of the KUMC Garden Club, Antiques Club and Book Club (avidly reading each book even when she could not participate in the book discussions.) For more than 40 years, she also volunteered weekly as a patient advocate at St. Luke's Hospital.
A memorial service for family and friends is planned in the fall at the Village Presbyterian Church. Please check back later for more information on the date.
A June 1942 graduate of Newburyport High School, Sybil received her nursing degree from Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Nursing School in Boston, where she subsequently worked as a surgical nurse. As World War II was underway, she sought out new challenges. She became a Cadet Nurse at Chelsea Naval Hospital outside Boston, and then moved to a hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, where, she later recalled, her male patients constantly teased her about her New England accent. There she met her future husband, Antoni (Toni) Mills Diehl, a pediatric cardiologist from Minneapolis, MN, in February 1948. They married on September 7, 1948, and honeymooned at the Harold and Julia Mills Diehl family cabin on Star Island, Cass Lake, MN. During their first two years of marriage, they lived in Minneapolis, where Sybil nursed polio patients at the University of Minnesota Hospital, and had their first child, Paul, in 1950. Later that year, Toni was called into active duty with the Navy, and the family moved to Great Lakes Naval Base, IL, where Pamela was born in 1951. Toni and Sybil moved to the Kansas City area in 1953, where Toni became the head of pediatric cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). Their first home was in Prairie Village, KS, where Brenda was born in 1954 and Jim in 1956. The Diehls moved in 1973 to Lenexa, KS, where their new home "in the country” bordered pasture land that reminded Sybil of growing up with dairy cows outside her home in Newburyport.
Sybil loved nature. She especially enjoyed watching birds, deer, and foxes from her bedroom window. Sybil and Toni loved to travel, including family trips to US national parks and, in their later years, visits to Ireland, Brazil, China, Thailand, Guatemala, and Switzerland. Sybil, like Toni, who passed away in September 2015, cared deeply about her community. They joined the Village Presbyterian Church in 1953, where Sybil sang in the choir directed by Istvan Gladics, joined the church mission sewing group and a women's church circle, volunteered as a parish nurse (checking blood pressure for worshipers between services), and visited church members who were home-bound or in nursing homes. Even into her late 80s, Sybil volunteered together with Toni at the Village Church Food Pantry. For many years, she baked cookies for the Cross-Lines community service organization, and was a hostess for donors during blood drives at the church. For 20 years, Sybil also volunteered at KUMC, taking the hospital shop cart to patients' rooms and doing her best to lift their spirits. Sybil was a member of the KUMC Garden Club, Antiques Club and Book Club (avidly reading each book even when she could not participate in the book discussions.) For more than 40 years, she also volunteered weekly as a patient advocate at St. Luke's Hospital.
A memorial service for family and friends is planned in the fall at the Village Presbyterian Church. Please check back later for more information on the date.
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