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Diana Toler Ihlenfeld, 82, of Wheeling, passed away Friday, September 4, 2026, at home, after a courageous battle with cancer. Her family and four-legged friends kept close watch until the end.
Diana was born at home on February 25, 1944, in Mingo County, West Virginia, daughter of the late Lee and Leta Toler. She grew up in the southern coalfields, where the Tolers ran a general store and she developed a strong work ethic. She carried that grit, and a sharp mind, to Morgantown, earning a German degree at West Virginia University and meeting the love of her life, Bill Ihlenfeld. They settled in Wheeling, raised their family, and shared 57 years of marriage before Bill died in 2021. Diana later earned a master's degree from WVU.
She began teaching German at Triadelphia High School in 1965. After stepping back to raise her children and substituting for several years, she returned full-time to Triadelphia Junior High, teaching English and Language Arts from 1982 to 1991. In 1992 she moved to Wheeling Park High School, teaching Language Arts and then serving as a Reading Specialist before capping off her career with what she loved most: eight years of German, until retiring in 2013. Over 37 years with Ohio County Schools, she also taught at the Florence Crittenton Home for Girls and every county elementary school, introducing students to world languages.
Diana loved her students, especially the German students who traveled abroad with her. She valued the support of Principals Ted Mattern, Dianna Vargo, and Chris Carder. She was grateful to her neighbor Joanne Gould, always there to check on her. Above all, Diana loved her grandchildren. Nothing lit her up like a text, a call, a FaceTime, or a visit from one of the four. She was their proudest fan and, to the end, their teacher: a stray "me and him" or a dangling participle never slipped past her, corrected gently and without fail.
Illness never dulled her. Sharp and engaged to the end, she followed the news, held her own in any conversation, and laughed with the quick wit that carried her through a lifetime of classrooms. She came into the world at home in Mingo County, by her parents; choice, and left it at home in Ohio County, by her own: a West Virginian from her first breath to her last.
She was also preceded in death by her siblings Bert, Dwight, Eugene, and Shirley Toler, Freda Toler Dotson, and Jonita Oldham, and nephews Tommy and Mooney Lamb and Matt Oldham.
She is survived by her children, Caroline Ihlenfeld Dillon (Richard) of Wheeling and William Ihlenfeld and his partner Jaclyn Cain, of Morgantown; grandchildren Sarah Ihlenfeld, Emma Diana Ihlenfeld, Charles Ihlenfeld III, and Quinten Joseph Dillon; brother-in-law Dr. Charles L. Ihlenfeld II and Dr. William Packard of Shelter Island, NY; Cynthia Morrison, whom she loved as a daughter; sister-in-law Wilma Toler; nieces Suzy Toler, Janet Toler, Mary Lamb, Kay Burtrand, Amy McCormack, and Shannon Toler; nephew Greg Toler; and her dogs Maggie and Stella.
Friends will be received at Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church, 905 National Road, Wheeling, Monday, September 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m., and Tuesday, September 22, from 10 a.m. until the Celebration of Life at 11 a.m., with Pastor Erica Harley presiding.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Ihlenfeld Family Journalism and Education Scholarships through the Ohio County Schools Foundation. Diana believed deeply in these scholarships and, in a final act as an educator, arranged to support them through her estate. Gifts in her memory will help future students find their voice.
Memories and condolences may be shared at www.alt- meyerfuneralhomes. com.