Miss-Delectable
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Animal lover Stanger overcame profound obstacles
Diana Minerva Stanger was born with lemons. But the “feisty, strong-minded girl that wouldn’t budge” turned them into lemonade at a young age, her family said.
Born deaf and with serious heart problems, Stanger underwent open heart surgery when she was just 2. The hearing impairment and the operation that many believed would sideline her childhood didn’t get in the way of frequent camping trips and competitive dodge ball games.
“It was never an obstacle for her,” said her sister, Rachel Esther Villanueva. “We were taught to treat her the same, and she became very independent at a young age.”
It was the same for Stanger as she became an adult, battling diabetes and the realization that she couldn’t have children. Instead of allowing it to break her, Stanger battled diabetes for 25 years and became a surrogate mother to a cat and dog.
Stanger died at her home in Spring Branch on Saturday from complications of diabetes. She was 45.
Stanger attended the Sunshine Cottage School for the Deaf until she was 10. There she learned to read lips.
After she completed elementary school at Sunshine, Stanger’s parents enrolled her in public school in Crystal City. She was on the cheerleading squad, something her sister said Stanger enjoyed.
Stanger then moved to Austin to complete high school at the Texas State School for the Deaf. While there she worked for the IRS field office as a file clerk. Stanger, who stood 4 feet, 11 inches tall, also played on the school’s basketball team.
It was at the state school that she met David Paul Stanger, who later became her husband of 24 years. David, also deaf, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree before marrying Stanger when she was 21. Their wedding ceremony was conducted in American Sign Language.
The two lived in Clear Lake for nearly 10 years before moving to Spring Branch, where Stanger taught commands in sign language to her cat, named Orange, and her dog, Apple.
“She loved children but couldn’t have any,” Villanueva said. “That’s where the animal love came from.”
Stanger, who also had rabbits, chickens and gerbils at different times in her life, defended the animals as though they were her children. When family members joked with Stanger about getting rid of them, she’d sign, “If you don’t like them, you can stay at a Motel 6.”
Diana Minerva Stanger was born with lemons. But the “feisty, strong-minded girl that wouldn’t budge” turned them into lemonade at a young age, her family said.
Born deaf and with serious heart problems, Stanger underwent open heart surgery when she was just 2. The hearing impairment and the operation that many believed would sideline her childhood didn’t get in the way of frequent camping trips and competitive dodge ball games.
“It was never an obstacle for her,” said her sister, Rachel Esther Villanueva. “We were taught to treat her the same, and she became very independent at a young age.”
It was the same for Stanger as she became an adult, battling diabetes and the realization that she couldn’t have children. Instead of allowing it to break her, Stanger battled diabetes for 25 years and became a surrogate mother to a cat and dog.
Stanger died at her home in Spring Branch on Saturday from complications of diabetes. She was 45.
Stanger attended the Sunshine Cottage School for the Deaf until she was 10. There she learned to read lips.
After she completed elementary school at Sunshine, Stanger’s parents enrolled her in public school in Crystal City. She was on the cheerleading squad, something her sister said Stanger enjoyed.
Stanger then moved to Austin to complete high school at the Texas State School for the Deaf. While there she worked for the IRS field office as a file clerk. Stanger, who stood 4 feet, 11 inches tall, also played on the school’s basketball team.
It was at the state school that she met David Paul Stanger, who later became her husband of 24 years. David, also deaf, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree before marrying Stanger when she was 21. Their wedding ceremony was conducted in American Sign Language.
The two lived in Clear Lake for nearly 10 years before moving to Spring Branch, where Stanger taught commands in sign language to her cat, named Orange, and her dog, Apple.
“She loved children but couldn’t have any,” Villanueva said. “That’s where the animal love came from.”
Stanger, who also had rabbits, chickens and gerbils at different times in her life, defended the animals as though they were her children. When family members joked with Stanger about getting rid of them, she’d sign, “If you don’t like them, you can stay at a Motel 6.”