After a brave and difficult fight with breast cancer, Leateen Diane (Wallace) Johnson was called home to be with the Lord. At the age of 71, she departed this life surrounded by love on March 10, 2023. 

Daughter of the late Lloyd Mullings and Cynthia Blackwood, and adopted daughter of the late Clifton and Kathleen Wallace, Diane was born on January 12, 1952 in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. She emigrated to the United States at the age of 13, where she put down new roots with her family in Springfield, Massachusetts. Always a phenomenal student, Diane graduated from Classical High School with honors. After obtaining a Bachelor degree in Nursing from the University of Bridgeport in 1975, she moved to Baltimore, Maryland.

Healthcare and helping others was truly her calling. In 1975, Diane began her nursing career at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore as a Staff Nurse, primarily in the Newborn and Intensive Care Nurseries. She transitioned from Unit Nursing to Management to expand her impact in the progressive roles of Assistant Head Nurse, Nursing Supervisor, and then Associate Director of Nursing - Women’s Services & Pediatrics, and Director, Admissions Department.

In 1979, Diane married Willie Johnson in Baltimore; from their union came one daughter, Kelli Johnson.  During their 44 years together, Diane and Willie travelled and experienced many adventures. Diane had an incredible love for Kelli. She was passionate about teaching her daughter integrity, loyalty and compassion, as well as imbuing her with the confidence necessary to pursue life with a pervasive, contagious fervor.

Shifting the trajectory of her career, Diane obtained a MBA from the University of Baltimore in 1992. The executive phase of her Sinai tenure began with the role of Director, Emergency and Critical Care Services. In 1994, she became Vice President, Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), the role in which she would conclude her career. As VP/CNO, Diane was responsible for strategic planning, financial management, and the direction of diverse hospital operations for the departments of Nursing, Radiology, Respiratory Care, Pulmonary Function Lab, Outpatient Infusion Services, Hemodialysis, Central Transportation, and Central Sterile. Diane elevated performance in all of these areas and demanded excellence even in the most minor details. She always insisted her Directors wore stockings and they couldn't wear sandals. Some lobbied her to institute a 4-day work week, long before they became popular, of course, Diane wouldn't hear of it. However, she cared about her colleagues, Directors and staff deeply and genuinely - they were truly her second family. This shone through her initiatives to redesign the Clinical Ladder to increase opportunities for growth, development and enhancement of quality, service, and engagement; and promotion of a healthy work environment through PROPEL positive leadership and Just Culture principles.

While her professional accomplishments and contributions are too many to enumerate, Diane was particularly proud of a few. Under her leadership as VP/CNO, her teams were able to secure the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet designation (the highest credential for nursing facilities in the United States and around the world) twice. The first Maryland CNO to formally set this standard, Diane established the BSN as the minimum standard for hiring nurses and achieved an 88% BSN rate. She implemented various specialty services/units to enhance care delivery including a Vent unit, a Joint Center, a Stem Cell unit, a Stroke unit, and an Intermediate Care unit. In 2002, Diane was awarded the Women of Color in Health, Science and Technology Special Recognition Award. She also served as a Board Member for the Maryland Healthcare Education Institute Board and Nursing Spectrum's VA, MD, DC Advisory Board. Through these achievements and the many lives (patient, staff, and colleague) she touched, Diane was the anchor and beating heart of Sinai’s Patient Care Department for over four decades. She worked tirelessly over the years to advance the role of nursing and make Sinai a place where nurses could truly grow in their careers, while helping provide a work environment that championed collaboration, quality, patient safety and engagement. In 2018, she retired from Sinai Hospital of Baltimore after 43 distinguished years of service. Diane and Willie relocated to Gainesville, Virginia to be near their daughter in 2019.

Affectionately known as “Lady Di” by friends and family alike, Diane was a discerning woman of exquisite taste who provided comfort and solace while asking little in return. Whether that was a childhood friend through relationships, other cancer patients through their treatments, or volunteering to read to children, she made it her mission to enrich and improve the lives of others. She was full of life and had one of the most contagious laughs. Diane always knew the right thing to say to lift you up, encourage you, and make you laugh if you were having a bad day. Some of her favorite things were to travel, shop, and spend time with family and friends. She was a voracious reader, excitable basketball fan, ardent Ravens fan, enthusiastic art collector, avid puzzler, lover of musicals, debater extraordinaire, autumn foliage admirer, exuberant holiday celebrant, and unabashed devotee of Hallmark movies. She had a magical way of bringing joy every time she walked into a room. No one who met her could forget her smile. 

To celebrate and cherish her memories and legacy of kindness, compassion, and generosity, Diane leaves behind her: husband, Willie Johnson; daughter, Kelli Johnson; daughter-in-law, Jordan Arnold; stepson, Dontay Johnson; sisters, Karen Wallace, Verollyn Mullings-Osbourne, and Paulette Mullings-John; brothers, Llowellyn Mullings, Newton Mullings, and Philmore Mullings; best friend, Juliette Jenkins, and a host of relatives, colleagues, friends, and neighbors. 

Diane had a huge kind heart and was such a beacon of light for so many throughout her lifetime, she will be truly missed by all who knew her.

Family and friends are welcome to attend a celebration of life, which will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Haymarket (6750 Fayette St., Haymarket, VA 20169) on March 25, 2023. The viewing will begin at 3:00 p.m. immediately followed by the service at 4:00 p.m. 

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the L. Diane Johnson Scholarship Fund for Nursing Education at Sinai Hospital.  To make a gift by mail, send your check made payable to: Sinai Hospital of Baltimore with Nursing Education in the notes. Send directly to LifeBridge Health Corporate Development Office, 2401 W. Belvedere Ave., Baltimore, Maryland 21215.  Or, call 410-601-4438 (GIFT) to pay with a credit card.  If you are  sending by e-mail you can provide this link (https://gratitude.lifebridgeh…) for on-line giving.

Alternatively, memorial gifts can be dedicated In Memory of L. Diane Johnson through the American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org/?ca…)  

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