Diane Enright Van Trees

Once upon a time, a pretty young girl went to West Point and met a handsome young man; she was so smitten to spend June week getting to know him better. Sadly, the smart cadet, who was number one in his class of 1952, failed to bring his raincoat to a football game, so he spent most of June week marching off the demerits, and she spent time with his dad. That might have been the end of the story, but the young man was smart enough to send her a box of chocolates for the next Valentine’s Day. So, they got married, had seven children, and had 70 years happily ever after, and are now reunited in heaven with their Savior. The end.

Oh, but there is more to the story…

Gwendolyne Diane Enright was born in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 1932, the much-loved only child of Gwendolyne & Wallace Enright. Her early life was not easy; her main friend was Tootie, her beloved Boston Terrier. She always remembered being showered in love, but with the bare necessities of life; life got bleaker when her father lost his tire business and their home in the Great Depression. As a child of the Depression, she was forever frugal in food and necessities; we’re almost afraid to find out how much clean used foil she has stashed. She was immensely proud of her Irish heritage and loved sharing the picture of her Irish grandfather’s DC blacksmith shop. Mom graduated from Washington & Lee High School in Virginia; she could be counted on to routinely break into their fight song, “W&L will shine tonight!” After HS graduation and a short stint working for the government, she headed to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn to explore her creative abilities.

Valentine’s Day 1953 would change her life forever; 2nd Lieutenant Harry L. Van Trees sent her a box of chocolates, flew her to his post at Fort Hood, Texas, and took her on a whirlwind trip to meet his mother; he was a beloved only child as well. Exactly 70 days later, they would marry at St Ann Catholic church in Arlington, VA. He would soon get orders to Germany, ending up in Baumholder. Diane, who had never been farther than VA/DC/MD, took a solo journey to join him there. In 1954, the first of seven healthy children would arrive, with siblings following in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, and 1965, a true Catholic “stairstep” family! After fulfilling his West Point commitment, Harry resigned his commission in 1955 to pursue academic endeavors. His job at Westinghouse supported the growing family while he pursued a master’s at Maryland and then a Doctorate at MIT. Mom was truly the wind beneath his wings - as he flourished, she held the family together, ensuring all were fed and healthy and most importantly happy and creative. She easily switched from being the mom of seven active children to hosting the faculty and exchange students at home. Dad would go on to great career success; he would not have achieved it without the steadfast love, support, and encouragement from Mom.

Adventurous, curious, risk-taking, strong; just some of the ways folks would have described mom; the adventures had only begun. Mom would eventually travel through almost 30 countries and many states, living in Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Hawaii, Ireland, Belgium, and Germany. She forever told tales of what the family called “The Grand Adventure”; Harry was granted a one-year sabbatical from MIT in 1969 and planned to quietly work on his Detection, Estimation, and Modulation book series. He asked Mom if there was anything she wanted to visit during the year; she immediately said, “Ireland”! So, they crafted what some might say was an insane plan to pack up seven kids, ages 4-15, and take them to experience where their forefathers came from; fall semester in Dublin, spring semester in Brussels (dad’s heritage), and throw in side trips throughout Europe with Dad doing a lecture tour in Russia. How to afford? Easy, a Volkswagen Microbus pulling a trailer, and we’d camp through Europe. Fortunately, the flashbacks have ceased for most of us from being crammed in a VW bus traveling through 24 countries and driving 20K+ miles in one year. Mom kept us fed and healthy throughout the journey, with a dinner from local sources each night. We all knew we’d have “goulash” for dinner each night, preceded by whatever country we were camping in. We have thoughtfully not shared this recipe with the grandkids.

Ah, but the highlights: who knew that showing up at St Peter’s for the Pope’s Easter mass with an attractive, but very skinny, American Catholic stairstep family that they would keep waving us through the corridors until we were seated with a small group of dignitaries on the Pope’s altar for the mass. Wow, just wow! Or, being given ballet tickets in Leningrad and seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov in Sleeping Beauty (in the middle of the Cold War) or attending the Passion play at Oberammergau, Pompeii, Moscow, Vesuvius, Auschwitz, Keukenhof, Delft; the Louvre, Prado, and touring every art museum, cathedral, and castle on our route. After we all flew the nest, mom and dad would continue their love of travel, to include walking on the Great Wall of China, and spending winters in Hawaii. Mom also took many faith journeys to Croatia and other pilgrimage sites. A highlight for the older grandchildren was the promise of a grandparent trip to Europe upon HS graduation. Many fond memories!

Mom’s focus shifted in 1986, as they moved from northern Virginia to Stanardsville in the beautiful, peaceful Blue Ridge Mountains. They would create the Whiffletree homestead and begin hosting the ever-growing clan for countless birthday parties, reunions, and visits. Mom created a small family chapel. The Lord works in mysterious ways; in 1990, Mom was attending a religious conference in Kansas and heard the Bishop was auctioning off the contents of five churches containing incredible stained-glass windows and artifacts. Of course, it was the logical thing to buy it all, load it into a U-Haul, and bring it to add to the family chapel, where it fit nowhere. That led to the creation of the beautiful 24’ x 48’ family chapel used for many masses and celebrations. It abuts the family cemetery where our sister Eileen and dad are buried, and mom will join them.

Faithful Catholic, strong, kind, creative, fun, playful, sweet, generous, joyful; consistent themes when the family was asked what best described our beloved Matriarch. What a blessing that these two only children, who had been raised to believe the world revolved around them, created an incredible, cohesive family of seven children, 19 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren, all of whom enjoy each other’s company. Common themes among the family: she never knew a stranger, she could always make friends with anyone she met and was genuinely interested in their story; her unwavering faith and devotion to her family; her love of bright beautiful colors and taking joy in the beauty of God’s creations; her child-like joy evinced itself around parties, children, grandchildren, crafts, and her many artistic endeavors. Her joy was contagious, making family gatherings a pleasure to attend.

Mark 10:21: Jesus said, “Sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Mom was committed to giving back and supporting causes that made a difference. She generously donated to programs supporting families, pro-life and Christian schools, the Zuni Indian Tribe, local food banks, our troops and veterans, wrestling programs for children, and more. She simply loved to bring joy and support to those in need of hope.

Mom and Dad shared a true love story; he was yang to her yin. Despite having opposite traits and personalities, they balanced each other out and truly made the other a better person, and enhanced their bond. Mom, ever the creative, artsy one, would be organizing crafts, plays, and sing-alongs while Dad would be helping us to construct fabulous mathematical story problems with his engineer’s mind. Mom softened Dad, and Dad supported every creative idea Mom had.

We lost Dad on 12/29/2022, and Mom never got over her sadness. Although she blended well into her new retirement community, making friends and sharing her faith with all, she was known as the “cross lady” because she gave out hundreds of olive wood comfort crosses from Bethlehem throughout her community. Dad, ever a country western fan, loved the line: "Son, since 1952 I've been waitin' on a woman". Well, they’re together again; dad isn’t waitin’ anymore.

Gwendolyne Diane Enright Van Trees passed into her Savior’s arms on 12/16/2025. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her daughter Eileen, and Stephen’s first wife Jeanie. She is survived by children: Stephen (Martha), Mark (Kimberly), Katie (Chuck), Tricia, Harry (Deborah), and Julia (Rui); grandchildren Brittany (Sean), Erin (Ryan), Tom (Sarah), Liz (Mike), Emily (Eric), Dillon (Derek), Bryan (Alyson), Julie (Nick), Rob (Alex), Meg, Peter (Jess), Emma (Kyler), Sarah (Frankie), Harry W. Jr (Hilary), Rebecca, Molly, Jackson, Alexander, and Luke; great-grandchildren Mark, Gwendolyne, Patrick, Caleb, Alyson, Max, Luke, Kate, Sylvie, Henry, Vada, Savannah, Harry III (Tripp), Murphy, Delilah, Charlotte, and Connor.

The family would like to thank the wonderful caregivers who provided Mom with love, care, and dignity in her last years. Florence Gyamfi and Lilian Gatubu went above and beyond in their care every long day; they were truly visiting angels. Thu Nguyen and Zarghoona Noory cared for her and calmed her through the nights. Knowing Mom was cared for so lovingly gave us great comfort. We are also very thankful to Father Barkett from Holy Trinity Catholic Church, who came every Friday to offer prayers and anoint Mom.

There will be a celebration of life and Mass of Christian Burial at 12 noon on January 10, 2026, at the Van Trees Chapel, Van Trees Lane, Stanardsville, VA, followed by burial in the family plot.

The family asks that in honor of Mom’s life, please perform a random act of kindness and bless someone with joy.

Arrangements are entrusted to Batten Funeral Home of Ruckersville, Virginia.