Diana Creighton Trent

Diana Creighton Trent passed away at Lynchburg General Hospital on December 27, 2025, just days short of her 79th birthday. Her health had been in decline for several years and she was unable to overcome severe challenges resulting from an acute infection despite the caring and heroic efforts of nurses and staff at Centra.

She was preceded in death by her parents Everett and Margaret Creighton, her brother, Robert Creighton, and brother-in-law Peter Smith.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Leslie Wayne Trent; son Jeffrey David Trent and his wife Laura of Mclean, Virginia, and their children Jacob, Gavin, and Anna; son Bradley Wayne Trent and his wife Jill of Westfield, Indiana, and their children Teagan and Taylor; sister Gloria Creighton and her husband Melvin Willey of Cambridge, Maryland; sisters-in-law Norma Trent Smith of Lynchburg and MaryEtta Creighton of Cambridge, all of whom she loved dearly.

Diana was born January 1, 1947 in Cambridge, Maryland. Soon after birth she became jaundiced and was about to be transfused with her mother's blood but a doctor, having just returned from a seminar in Baltimore about the Rh factor, recognized that action would be fatal and arranged for her father and a nurse to travel by ferryboat to Baltimore for transfusion with the appropriate blood type. She was in the hospital there for two weeks.

Diana grew up in Cambridge and lived very close to the Choptank River, playing all along the shore there. As a pre-teen she was a member of the local rifle club and became a sharpshooter. She attended Cambridge High School and, after a suggestion by the school guidance counselor who had recently visited the school, decided to attend Lynchburg College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1969 and later a Master of Administration in 1990.

She met Wayne, who was home for the weekend from Virginia Tech, on a blind date in April, 1966, after they both had blind dates set up with others that fell through. They were paired together at the last minute by a mutual friend, Ed Harvey. It was a blessing and today Ed remains a good friend.

After graduation, while Wayne performed his Active Duty obligation with the Virginia National Guard at Fort Polk, Louisiana she went on a six-week European tour, flying to London and sailing home on the Queen Elizabeth II. Upon her return, she served as the first social worker at Dorchester Hospital in Cambridge.

They married in May 1970 and she moved to Lynchburg, working as a social worker for the Lynchburg Department of Social Services. She later served as a trainer in the Personnel Department and finished her career with thirteen years as Director of Human Services, which included Social Services, Group Homes, Juvenile Justice, Parks and Recreation, and Museums and Libraries, with a total of about 300 staff. As a breast cancer survivor, she decided to retire in 2005 to enjoy life more. She spent many years on the MAAM Committee (Mammograms Annually A Must) and for a time served as its chairperson. She also started tap dance lessons at Lynchburg Parks and Recreation and continued for years because she loved it.

Travel was a big part of her family life and her adventures included landing on a glacier in a single engine airplane in Denali National Park and white-water rafting in Alaska, hot air ballooning in Sedona, Arizona, walking the rim of the Grand Canyon, and observing thousands of stars in the total darkness of Bryce Canyon National Park. There were many trips to Key West and the Caribbean. She also enjoyed river cruises in Europe and ocean cruises in the Baltic, Adriatic, and Mediterranean Seas. There were trips to France, the UK, and to Italy when Brad and his family were living there. She also enjoyed touring the mosques in Istanbul and watching the sunrise atop freezing Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Special thanks go to frequent traveling companions Dave and Kathy Firth, and Tom and Wendy Currier.

Diana was a warm, wonderful person and will be dearly missed. An informal celebration of life gathering will be held on Saturday, January 17 at Oakwood Country Club in Lynchburg from 2-4 pm. For those who wish to attend, a brief ceremony will follow at 4:30 in the Columbarium at the Old City Cemetery, where her urn will be placed.

In lieu of Flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Centra Health's MAAM Fund.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg is assisting the family.