Diana Ruth Geis Vandel Obituary

Diana Ruth Geis Vandel was born April 2, 1947, to Elma Ruth and John George Geis in San Antonio, Texas. She passed away on October 20, 2022 at home in Austin after a long battle with Corticobasal Degeneration.

Music played a prominent role in Diana’s life, starting with piano lessons at age 6, and continuing into high school, when she began to take pipe organ lessons from the keyboardist at the San Antonio Symphony. She attended Alamo Heights High School, where she was an officer on the drill team, was football sweetheart, and Secretary of her Senior Class. She organized a number of her high school class reunions following graduation. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a degree in Music Education. Her musical focus at UT was the pipe organ, which was a continuation of what she had first learned years before. At UT, she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, where she served as Song Leader and Rush Captain. She maintained friendships with many of her sorority sisters after college.

Diana moved back to San Antonio after college and became a licensed nursing home administrator so she could work in her family business. In 1976, she married Jerry Vandel, and moved to New Mexico, where Jerry was a physician in the Indian Health Service. Following this, they spent a year in Tucson, Arizona, where she studied photography during this year, while Jerry finished his residency in Internal Medicine. She became an accomplished photographer and continued pursuing her interest in photography for many years. From Tucson, they moved back to San Antonio, prior to moving to Austin in 1985.

Diana had been doing meditation and Yoga since she was in her 20’s and decided to start teaching both practices after settling in Austin. She has many devoted students that she taught these disciplines, who were all sad when she was no longer able to carry on these classes. Her meditation practice led her to initiation on the Path of Sound and Light with Inner Light Ministries in Austin.

Diana was an outstanding gardener, as evidenced by the abundant gardens at her home. She also enjoyed traveling, especially to New York City to visit her son and daughter-in-law and her 2 granddaughters.

Diana was preceded in death by her parents Elma Ruth and John George Geis. She is survived by Jerry, her husband of 46 years, her son Jeremy (wife Nicole) and granddaughters Isabelle and Maya. She is also survived by her brothers George (wife Diana) and J.G. (wife Sally), and nieces Jennifer Ryan and Mallory Geis.

We want to give special thanks to Hospice Austin and to Blanca Pleitez, her loving caregiver these past 8 months.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, November 7th at 1:00 PM, at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, (605 Azie Morton Road) in Austin.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Diana’s honor to the Central Texas Food Bank or to Austin Wildlife Rescue.