Diana Bradham

Diana Bradham, age 77, of Trumansburg died on January 24, 2020 at her home after a courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. Her husband, Ray, and their daughters, Amy Dawson of Trumansburg, and Sarah Bradham of Portland, Ore. were around her and supporting her as she left this world to enter eternity where she will be without pain.

She was born on September 23, 1942 in White Plains, N.Y. to Alphonse and Rose Lattauzio. At an early age she moved with her family to El Paso, Texas. In high school she was a member of ROTC and was involved in the theater. She went on to form her own theater group in Alamogordo, N.M., and taught theater at the New Mexico School for the Visually Impaired. She also worked as a DJ in Alamogordo, and was working at the radio station when the news about President Kennedy❜s death came across the teletype.

She met her future husband, Ray Bradham, on May 1, 1970 and they married six weeks later on June 12 in El Paso. She became an Army wife with a life that included many adventures and assignments. Diana had many volunteer responsibilities and always went above and beyond in her roles. She received the Scroll of Appreciation and the Helping Hand Medallion in 1982 for her exceptionally dedicated and professional volunteer service.

The family❜s final Army station was Watertown, N.Y. in 1985. When Ray left the Army for civilian life, the family chose to stay in Watertown and put down roots. Diana worked as an executive secretary for the Personnel Director at the Watertown City School District and was a very active volunteer at First Presbyterian Church. Spurred on by her lifelong love of the theater she volunteered to direct a play at Watertown High School in 1990. In 2004, Diana and Ray decided to uproot once more and retire in Trumansburg to a home just around the corner from Amy and her family.

Diana was a kind and caring person. She always knew she wanted to be a mother, and felt blessed to have two daughters. She settled into her role as a mom naturally, and gave selflessly of herself as a devoted mother, and then as a grandmother. She was kind to everyone and believed her children and grandchildren could do anything in the world.

She loved to bake and she passed on that love to her daughter Amy. She loved watching movies and sharing the Academy Awards with her daughter Sarah. She was a devoted reader and avid bridge player and was a member of a local bridge group and book club.

Diana and her husband loved each other dearly and were almost always together. Their love was special and they knew on their first date that the Lord meant for them to be together forever.

In addition to her husband and two daughters, she is survived by her sister, Anna Zaiss of St. Louis, Mo.; her stepdaughter, Lisa Pitts, from Doylestown, Pa.; and four grandchildren: Elizabeth Dawson, who currently attends Ithaca College as a music education major; Xander Dawson, a sophomore at Trumansburg High School; Cassidy Pitts, who attends Penn State as a biomedical engineering major; and Kendra Pitts, who attends elementary school in Doylestown. She is also survived by her sons-in-law-Scott Dawson, Adam Nawrot, and Brian Pitts. She loved them all as her sons. Her brother, John Lattauzio, predeceased her.

The family extends a special thank you to the Oncology staff of Cayuga Medical Center for the devotion to the care of Diana, as well as to Hospicare.

A Virtual Memorial Service will be held at 7:00pm on Friday, June 12, 2020. If interested in participating in services, please contact Ray Bradham at rfbradham@gmail.com.