Darrell Lee Diller was born in Bluffton, Ohio, on September 9, 1934. He passed away unexpectedly after a brief, sudden illness on February 13, 2026. One of eight children, he was raised on a farm and reared in the Mennonite tradition.

He attended Pandora-Gilboa High School and was a graduate of Bluffton College, where he excelled in sports and was a skilled marksman while in the Army Reserve. A self-made man, he took up farming and rebuilding antique cars while also coaching and teaching and becoming a certified small plane pilot.

In the summer of 1961, he met the love of his life, Sally Jean Allen, a former state beauty queen, teacher and gospel singer. Together they managed a highly successful farming business and built their dream home in the countryside, where they raised all five of their children, who also were all graduates from Pandora-Gilboa High School and were baptized as members of Ebenezer Mennonite Church in Bluffton.

Eventually, he retired from farming and became a licensed nursing home administrator and relocated with his wife to beautiful Santa Barbara, California, where his three youngest children attended college. Happily married together for 40 years, they enjoyed traveling, walking on the beach and spending time with their grandchildren until his wife’s tragic, untimely death from ALS in 2002. Darrell eventually decided to move back to his home state of Ohio and be closer to his immediate family and his grandchildren, where he resided for 10 years before moving back permanently to his beloved Santa Barbara to retire.

He enjoyed spending quality time with his children and grandchildren, doing jigsaw puzzles, tinkering with cars and trucks, antiquing and walking at least a mile every day of his life. Although he fully embraced and enjoyed the West Coast lifestyle, he never lost his Midwestern values, work ethic and incredible charm. He was a force of life and inspiration to all those who loved him and the loss of him in their lives is immeasurable. His last wish was that his ashes be mixed and buried with his beloved wife Sally in the cemetery by the beach in Santa Barbara.

He was preceded in death by six siblings, one son, and one grandson and is survived by one brother, four children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family continues to thank all those who have shared their remembrances and expressed their love, sympathy and support since his passing as we commemorate our first birthday without him.