Diane Bondietti Morton passed away peacefully February 18, 2020, at her home in Santa Barbara at the age of 71.  Diane was born in Lompoc, California, November 16, 1948, where she grew up on her family's farm.  Diane attended a one-room schoolhouse until the sixth grade.  Always an outstanding student, she graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1970 with honors in Politics, and then obtained a Master's of Social Work from Sacramento State the next year.  In 1972 Diane began her 32-year career at the Veterans Administration as a social worker in the spinal cord injury ward of the Long Beach VA Hospital, working with the large numbers of Vietnam War injured.  While there, she developed and administered a new and innovate drug treatment program for spinal cord patients.  At the same time, she taught at Cal State Long Beach, where she met her future husband, John "Jack" Morton.  In 1979 Diane achieved her dream of moving to Santa Barbara when she became the sole representative of the VA in the Tri Counties area.  She and Jack were married in 1980, and as the Santa Barbara VA facility grew, Diane became head of Social Work and Mental Health, working to assist countless veterans until her retirement in 2004.

Diane loved Hawaii, and she and Jack traveled there many times.  After retirement, Diane and Jack toured the entire US with their adored dachshunds, cruised the Mississippi River and the Panama Canal, and explored the towns and byways of her cherished Central Coast.  Diane also enjoyed a glass of California champagne now and then.

From childhood, Diane was challenged by spinal muscular atrophy, a rare degenerative neuromuscular disease that eventually robbed her of the use of her legs, but which she refused to let define her or stand in the way of achieving her goals.  She fought quietly but forcefully for her right to be recognized as a complete human being rather than a wheelchair, living a full and amazing life, and her determination and refusal to back down in the face of daunting obstacles was an inspiration to all who knew her.

Diane was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Mary Bondietti, and her brother Ernest A. Bondietti.  She is survived by her devoted and beloved husband, Jack.  She will be sorely missed by all whose lives she touched, and she lives on in the hearts of her family and friends.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Santa Barbara Land Trust or the Gaviota Coast Conservancy.

The burial service will be held at the Lompoc Cemetery at 10 AM on Saturday, February 29, 2020.  There will be a celebration of Diane's life beginning at 12 noon on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in the Jalama Room at the Embassy Suites, 1117 North H Street, Lompoc, CA 93436.