Deanna "Dianne" Dorothy Nurre

Deanna “Dianne” Dorothy Nurre passed away on October 16, 2026, surrounded by her siblings from complications brought on by a stroke. A visitation will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home, 520 Wilson Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Additional visitation will occur at the church beginning at 9 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. the following day on Wednesday, October 28 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids, with a luncheon following. Friends and family are welcome to join them. Burial will take place at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Greeley, Iowa.

Deanna was born September 24, 1945, in Dubuque to Floyd and Dorothy (DuBois) Nurre and grew up in Greeley, Iowa

She was a bus driver, a bartender, a truck driver, a secretary, a teacher, a coach, and a nun. She worked in manufacturing, delivered newspapers, managed a pharmacy, worked in a pro shop at a golf course, and worked on a farm. She was a skilled carpenter, and electrician, a plumber, and a machinist. She could even replace the engine in a car.

But for 42 years of her life, she was a nurse. She cared for pregnant women and delivered over 350 babies. She could handle the stress of emergency room patients, was tough in dealing with the real and perceived health needs of inmates in prison, served as a temporary elementary school nurse at an international school in China, served as a supervisor in non-invasive cardiology, and was one of the first nurses in the cardiac cath-lab at Mercy Medical Center.

Dianne, as she was called in her early years, grew up on a farm near Greeley, a small town in Delaware County where she helped her father and older brother with farming chores growing up. She was driving a tractor at the age of eight. She was proud that she was able to maintain her home and yard and, in the process, seemed to have acquired every tool ever needed. Even though she loved the outdoors, she did learn other skills from watching her mother—caning chairs, refinishing furniture, quilting, canning and freezing produce from her garden, and baking pies. She made the best piecrust, with lard, of course!

Deanna was a sports enthusiast all of her life. She played basketball and softball in high school and as an adult was on an award-winning softball team, the Greeley Guzzlers, as both a player and coach. She was also an avid biker--riding several times on RAGBRAI and introduced her family to biking along the river in Lanesboro, MN. She was also passionate about motorcycles, cars, fishing and golf--where as part of a weekly league she made many wonderful friends.

Deanna attended Greeley Consolidated School from Grade 1-10 and graduated high school from West Delaware in 1963. She enrolled at Kirkwood Community College at age twenty-six, moved to Cedar Rapids and lived with her maternal grandmother. Within two years she had graduated with an associate nursing degree. She would go on to do specialized training in OBGYN in Colorado and eventually received her bachelor’s degree from Mount Mercy College while working full-time. Later in her career she would also become one of the first nurse practitioners in Iowa.

During her working years, Deanna studied to become a nun with the Sisters of Mercy. During her novitiate at the convent, it eventually became clear that this was not where God was calling her, but she remained friends with many of the Sisters of Mercy.

In retirement she enjoyed volunteering for Mercy Medical Center and at Meth-Wick, where she moved after selling her home. She also loved music attending many concerts and singing in the Together in Song chorus and the DeWolf Innovation Center.

Deanna loved family. Her parents and grandparents always lived close by but when they passed her siblings, nieces and nephews became a focal point of her life. When asked, Deanna hoped to be remembered as someone who was not afraid of hard work and who never met a person who remained a stranger for long. She could talk with anyone and loved visiting. She made an impression and will be remembered with fondness and a smile.

Deanna is survived by her sisters, Darlene Boge and Barbara (Jerry) Cole of Manchester; and brother, Steven (Mary) Nurre of Cedar Rapids; as well as a sister-in-law, Barb Nurre of Elkader; and her twelve nieces and nephews: Kris (Ken) Rave, Dundee; Rod (Ann) Nurre, Greeley; Carolyn Becker, Earlville; Tom (Cheryl Kuhn) Boge, Manchester; Paula Nurre, Schaumburg, Illinois; Luke (Tanya) Nurre, Dundee; Ryan Cole and Adam Cole, Strawberry Point; Ben (Breann) Cole, Delhi; Dustin(Katie) Nurre, Dundee; Claire Nurre, Cedar Rapids; and Peter Nurre, Denver, Colorado; 12 great nieces and nephews; and 10 great-great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, David, in 2005; brother-in-law, Merlyn Boge; sister-in-law, Judy; nephew, Tim Boge; and nephew-in-law, Ed Becker.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family.