Diane Bartlett Stanbridge, 81, passed away peacefully Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Memory Center with family and friends at her side.
Born Aug. 17, 1937, in Ashland, Kentucky, Diane was raised and educated in the Cradock community of Portsmouth, where she met and married Harry L. Bartlett and raised a family, primarily in Norfolk.
Following Harry Bartlett’s death from cancer in 1986, Diane married Harold “Harry” Stanbridge in 1990, and with the exception of two years in Panama from September 1991 to September 1993, they lived in Virginia Beach.
Diane is survived by her husband, Harry; sons, David (Carol) and Brian Bartlett; daughter, AnneMarie Jones; stepsons, Mathew (Amy) and Paul (Brenda) Stanbridge; stepdaughter, Crista Stanbridge; and eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A truly gifted porcelain artist and teacher, Diane earned numerous trophies and ribbons in competitions and traveled throughout the United States and Europe conducting seminars and taking classes. She was a member of the World Organization of China Painters (WOCP), serving as president, vice president and treasurer of WOCP’s Virginia chapter. She was a member and delegate of the International Porcelain Art Teachers Association (IPAT) and a facilitator of the first Portrait Society Magazine. Her exquisite work has been displayed in the Porcelain Museum in Oklahoma City and numerous porcelain art publications. In 1986, Diane painted a porcelain tea set for the Governor’s Executive Mansion in Richmond. To this day, her beautiful work hangs in the living rooms and studios of admirers, friends and students around the world.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 8, at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, 2002 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach. Funeral and burial services will be held at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
Share online condolences with the family at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments.
