Diana Unruh Obituary

Diana Peterson
Unruh
August 19, 1944
November 8, 2025

Diana Peterson Unruh, 81, of Manitou Springs, Colorado, passed away peacefully on November 8 2025 at Sunny Vista in Colorado Springs. Diana was born on August 19, 1944, in Grand Junction CO, the youngest child of Margot and Walter Peterson. She grew up in Colorado Springs with her older sister Mary Zo Judson and brother Pete Peterson. In high school the family moved to southern California and Diana graduated from Anaheim Union High School in 1962 where her father was Principal and her mother a Teacher. After graduating she went on to study in Salzburg, Austria, and returned to work and attend school at UCLA, where she met her lifelong friend Pegi Maggart. During her first marriage, she went on to call many places in the United States home, having her daughter, Amy, in Michigan and her son Ralph, in Kansas. While employed in Corpus Christi, Texas, she met the love of her life, marrying Jerry Unruh. Upon retirement they moved back to Colorado, where he had also grown up. Together, and largely with their own hands, they built an Earthship off-grid home at an 8,500 foot elevation in Crystal Park and enjoyed over two decades of living among friends in the mountains and forests of the Colorado front range.
Outside of her employment Diana was an accomplished artist, completing hundreds of paintings and ceramic works. Many were sold out of Manitou Springs galleries and her work is still enriching homes across the US. In her 70s, one of her proudest achievements was finishing her Associate's Degree in Fine Arts at Pikes Peak Community College. Always a dog lover, she and Jerry were dog parents to three Boston Terriers - Cricket, Lulu, and Barnaby. Diana was particularly devoted to enriching the lives of their children - Karl, Amy, Ana, and Ralph. She loved to host or travel for grandchildren, always willing to draw, paint, build, read, and be silly.
Diana is survived by her husband Jerry Unruh, and their children. She is also survived by grandchildren Jake, Maddie, Marianne, Wulfric, Rowan, and Arwen along with three great-grandchildren Angel, Derrick, and Erik.
The family would like to thank Sunny Vista, The Neptune Society, and especially Brighton Hospice for their services during Diana's final transition from this life. Per her wishes, she has been cremated. A celebration of life is planned for 2026.