Diane L. Coombs of St. Johnsbury Center, Vt., lived with her cancer until she died peacefully Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7, 2007, surrounded by family and friends at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital at the age of 50. She was born May 7, 1957, in St. Johnsbury, the daughter of Donald and Dorothy (Morrison) Coombs. Diane graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy in 1975. Diane worked as a licensed nurse's aide at St. Johnsbury Health and Rehabilitation Center for 18 years, for a short while at a nursing home in Massachusetts, and later at The Pines in Lyndon. After her father's stroke, Diane became his primary caregiver and has cared for her mother for the past several years as well. Diane liked to make people laugh and smile and bring out the positive side in them. She enjoyed quiet walks and watching the wild ducks behind Center Tower with her father. She collected angels in which she believed. She faithfully attended both her son's school and sporting events. Survivors include her two sons, Blakely Jenkins II of St. Johnsbury and Michael Sumner Jr. of St. Johnsbury Center; her mother, Dorothy Coombs of St. Johnsbury Center (PO Box 63, 05863); her sister, Lynn Root and husband Terry of Lebanon, N.H., and children Justin, Patrick, and Megan; her brother, Kenneth Coombs and wife Sheryl of Concord, N.H., and children Justin and Allison; several close friends, including her aunt Lorraine Lauren and her family of Star Lake, N.Y., Jeannie Blake of West Burke, Vt., Flossie Mathewson of St. Johnsbury, and Tammy Tinkham of Groton, Vt. She was predeceased by her father Donald Coombs on Oct. 6, 2004. Funeral services will be held Thursday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m., at the North Congregational Church. Pastor Sally Chamberlin, a close family friend, will officiate. Burial will follow at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Visiting hours will be held at the Sayles Funeral Home Wednesday evening 6-8 p.m. Memorial contributions made in Diane's memory may be directed to Norris Cotton Cancer Center, (marked for Lung Cancer Research), Attention Amy Stansfield, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756.