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The Greenville Advocate recently lost a member of our work family, Angie Long, a month ago. Our work family has once again lost not only a co-worker, but a friend as well. Dianne Mathews passed away of COVID this past weekend while being cared for at the Regional Medical Center in Greenville.

If you have ever entered the Greenville Advocate office, you were most likely greeted by Dianne. She was the first face our customers would see and the first voice they would hear on the phone

I struggle to come up with words to express what a wonderful person she was.

Dianne may not have been an extravagant writer, but she kept our office going. She handled everything, payroll, new hires, store runs, customer concerns, subscriptions, and more.

In more ways than one, she was the Greenville Advocate.

She was also the person who would listen as I vented my frustrations, always finding a way to agree with me to make me feel better. Dianne was the one I would email or call when I didn’t know how to do something. She was the first person to work and usually the last one to leave.

Her blue cardigan still sits on the back of her office chair across the room from me. My mind just cannot accept the fact that she will not be sitting in her chair when I walk in the front door every morning.

How can she not be gossiping with Tammy Morgan, distributor, at her desk in the afternoons? Laughing at inside jokes while we heckle them from across the office.

Dianne is the second person I have known personally to pass from COVID. Dianne and I had several conversations regarding the virus and the vaccine. We both believed it should be an individual’s choice.

Watching how quickly she went from perfectly fine to gone has made me think even more about my decision and what is best for me and my family. I know Dianne would have done and given anything to be here for her daughter.

Dianne loved the beach and anything beach themed. I hope she is sitting out by the ocean now without a care in the world, knowing she is missed and loved.