Frank & Bright Funeral Home
Dianna Cricelli
Aug 31st, 1955 - Apr 12th, 2024Dianna Faye Cricelli, age 68, of Pocahontas, Illinois, passed away on April 12, 2024, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Born on August 31, 1955, in Flora, the daughter of Jim and Wanda (Vail) Brinkley, she arrived just moments after her twin sister, Glenda. She married Frank Cricelli on July 1, 1978.
Dianna was a 1973 graduate of Flora High School. She retired from Highland CUSD #5 as an administrative secretary on December 31, 2017. She was a strong Christian woman who cherished spending time with her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. She loved watching them play sports activities of all kinds, including basketball, football, volleyball, and cheerleading. She also found pleasure in mowing her lawn, reading, quilting, and shopping.
Christmas was Dianna’s favorite holiday, during which she would decorate every room throughout her home and create homemade chocolates for over 50 families each year. She loved to shop for her family and went to Branson, Missouri, every November with her sisters, nieces, and other family members to start the holiday shopping, often returning with a car packed to the brim and little room for passengers.
She also hosted an Easter Egg Hunt each year in Flora for all her nieces and nephews, as well as one for the children of her friends in Highland. She truly loved to do things for others all of the time.
She is survived by her husband of 45 years: Frank Cricelli of Pocahontas; 2 sons: Dominic Nicholas William Cricelli (Cari) and Nathan Scott Cricelli, both of Highland; 7 grandchildren: Alexia Cricelli, Parker Cricelli, Joey Walch, Riley Walch, Elizabeth Maroon, Gavin Maroon, and Bristol; 3 brothers: Doug Brinkley (wife Violet) of Enid, Oklahoma, Kent Brinkley (wife Donna) of Flora, and Sam Brinkley of Riverside, California; 2 sisters: Janet Bricker of Flora and Maureen Tolliver (husband Alan) of Flora; sisters-in-law: Lina Cricelli of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Vicky Cricelli Milner (husband Dale) of Xenia; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Jim and Wanda Brinkley; twin sister: Glenda Brinkley; brother: Larry Brinkley; brother-in-law: Roy Bricker; sister-in-law: Martha Brinkley; niece: Elizabeth Brinkley; and father-and-mother-in-law: Dominic and Mary Ann Cricelli.
A funeral ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at Frank & Bright Funeral Home in Flora. Interment will follow in Elmwood Cemetery, Flora. A visitation will be held from 5:30 until 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening at the funeral home. Memorial donations are suggested to the Highland Middle School (HMS) and Highland High School (HHS) Athletic Boosters, or any favorite charity of the donor’s choice, and these will be accepted through the funeral home. To share a condolence or memory, visit: www.frankandbright.com