Diana DeCastro

Born June 9, 1958, Diana Carmona DeCastro was the beloved daughter of Olga Muniz and the late Emerito Miguel Carmona Núñez de Vió Vicensió Del Peral y Piedras Negras. Born in Colón, Cuba, Diana came to the United States as a young girl, and with her mother and father, they settled in Belle Glade, Florida. She attended Christian Day School and soon after graduation married Julio DeCastro. They later moved to Palm Beach, Florida.

Teacher, banker, realtor and owner of multiple businesses, through the years Diana pursued and excelled at a number of professions. She never stopped creating and was the quintessential entrepreneur, always marching to the beat of her own drum. Wherever she took her timeless brand, people followed. Ultimately, her most admirable profession was that of a more than full-time mother to her two daughters, Karen and Olivia. She devoted herself to providing a loving and nurturing home for her daughters while allowing them to grow in their own directions.

Diana followed her girls to Furman University where she quickly became honorary TKE Sweetheart and unofficial member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She was famous for her endless paella parties, never missing an opportunity to entertain, always hosting an affair to remember. She had a deep love and fascination of Princess Diana and planned the most regal of weddings for her own daughters.  She led her girls with a gentle guidance through every step of their lives.

She became “Nana” to her granddaughter, Camila Diana Lopez Jordan and to her two grandsons, Luca Andrés and Alessandro León Esquivel. They shared an immeasurable love for one another. Diana would serve the children’s drinks in fine pewter glasses while she judged their talent shows and soccer tricks night after night. Her children and grandchildren were her “beauties” and the loves of her life.

Diana exuded a balance of love, grace, integrity, fun and gentleness. She lit up every room she ever entered with her beauty, elegance and positivity. Her laughter will live on in the hearts and memories of everyone who knew her. To know Diana was to love her.

Diana Carmona DeCastro passed away peacefully surrounded by those she loved the most, on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at Duke University Medical Center. Surviving in addition to her husband and mother are her two daughters, Karen Lopez Jordan and Olivia Diana Esquivel; grandchildren Camila Diana Lopez Jordan, Luca Andrés and Alessandro León Esquivel and son-in-law, Anthony Esquivel along with Carl Sobocinski. In them and through them, she leaves a lasting legacy and a shining example of motherhood, character, devotion and eternal love which will live on through generations.

A memorial service will be held at 11 am, Saturday, March 24th at Pretty Place Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to Safe Harbor, SC.

Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown