Remembering Diane Windler

View images from Diane's life at Eden

Funeral arrangements have now been finalized for the Rev. Dr. Diane Windler, former director of admissions and director of international student programs at Eden Theological Seminary.  

The funeral will take place at 1pm on Friday, May 21 in the Chapel at Eden, with the Rev. Dr. Deborah Krause and the Rev. Audrey Nourse, officiating. The Chapel is located in the S.D. Press Education Center. A reception will follow in Eden’s Schroer Commons.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorials be made to The Reverend Dr. Diane Windler International Student Endowment Fund, an endowed fund created at the time of Diane’s retirement from Eden last year.

A message from Dean of Students, Deborah Krause:

I am so very sorry to report that Diane Windler died soon after 11pm, Sunday, May 16, 2010. She was surrounded by her husband Gary and son Ken and her sisters. They have kept close to her side since her emergency hospitalization last Monday. Their vigil with her has been a testimony to the kind of love we all knew that Diane had for them. She deeply loved her family.

Diane was our colleague, mentor, dear friend and a true sister in Christ. Her life and ministry were marked by joy and love for God’s people and creation. Her love for the students of Eden Theological Seminary, the educational mission of the school, and the life of the community have been hallmarks of our experience in this place for many years. The reach of her nurture and support of Eden students is known around the world, especially through her passion for international students at Eden and her commitment to building a program to support them in their education in the U.S.

As Diane’s family makes decisions, I will share information with the Eden community about services and ways to remember and give thanks for her life.

At this time we will continue to hold Diane’s family in our closest thoughts and prayers.

Deborah Krause
Academic Dean

The Reverend Dr. Diane Windler began her ministry at Eden Theological Seminary on April 7, 1997, as Director of Admissions and concluded that run 12 years later on August 31, 2009 as the Director of International Students. During her ministry at Eden, Diane became an integral part of the Eden Community. In addition to loving her work at Eden—which anyone who knows Diane, she did with her whole heart and soul—knows she had two another loves: her husband Gary and son Ken—who have shared Diane with Eden and vice versa.

Diane had a unique gift of cultivating relationships with men and woman. She really understood her ministry as that of helping people with discernment, not simply recruitment. As Director of Admissions, Eden admitted some of our largest classes while other seminaries were not as fortunate.

But Diane had another passion—that of God’s global church. During Diane’s tenure Eden’s program of partnerships across the world grew and our international students each year doubled.  Her “family” now extends too many lands where Eden graduates live. Here some words shared by our international students and graduates:

In Diane, I discovered hospitality, patience and tolerance, understanding, encouragement, when to relax with a Tusker and when to work very hard. In Diane, I discovered the beauty of diversity, of bringing cultures together, of sharing intimate stories as real ground of connecting, of pouring our frustrations and limitations, of being contended and very importantly staying connected even when we are a thousand miles from each other. Very recently Diane wrote to me saying “Many people long to live long to see a thousand places” but to her it is, “to live long to see a thousand people.” 

Musa Maina Deputy Principal and Professor of New Testament of the Reformed Institute of Theological Training in Eldoret, Kenya.

“Diane is a living database and Google engine in her own right. She is dynamic and has amazing capacity and skills when it comes to finding information and resources through the internet. I was having difficulty finding an airline ticket to come to Eden, Diane’s response when I called—‘do not worry, I will get you out!’.  Thank you for the empowering work you have done through Eden Seminary for God’s church.” 

Stephen  Ben-Naimah,  Liberia Lutheran Church

“I still remember that you are the first person I met at Eden when my family first arrived here from China in the morning on September 7, 2007.  You gave me a warm hug and made me feel welcomed. I experienced that you serve the international students as the mother, pastor, professor, computer technician, medical doctor and health insurance counselor. You were always ready to share with us whenever we were happy or in difficulty.” 

Guangyu Lou, China

Do you detect a theme? Diane was about welcome. She was about the living church. She could not contain it. She taught us much at Eden and our international scholar program is in her debt. Thanks in great measure to her, Eden can be in partnership with God’s global church more fully.

In Diane’s honor last year, at the occasion of her retirement from Eden, the Seminary created an endowed scholarship that bears her name. The scholarship agreeemnt includes these words:

“Our imaginations about the world in which we live and share with others have been changed because of Diane’s ministry. We have been shaped by our sisters and brothers studying through the International Program. They reminded us of God’s presence in the global world. This is critically important as Eden lives out our commitment and ministry to the global church as we study, reflect, form and reform our thinking about mission, church, and society. 

“The world in which we live is smaller because of Diane’s efforts.”