ROCHESTER, NY – Diane Marguerite Mashia, 59, of Rochester, New York, was Called Safely Home on Sunday, November 9, 2025. She was born on April 24, 1966 in Holyoke, Massachusetts to Robert and Jacqueline (Rioux) Mashia. She grew up in Chicopee attending Streiber Elementary School, Bellamy Middle School, and Chicopee Comprehensive High School, where she graduated in 1984. She attended Smith College in Northampton, MA graduating in 1988 with a B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in Chemistry. While living in Chicopee, she was a communicant of Saint Anne Church.
Diane loved the arts and artistic expression. She was a member of the elite dance teams at Carol’s Dance Studio and Kasak Sisters Dance Studio, both in Chicopee. She was also editor in chief of her high school yearbook, was a member of the marching band and winter guard. She loved to sing and participated in Smith College’s Glee Club and Chamber Singers, even traveling to perform in London in 1987.
Diane moved to Rochester, NY in 1992 to work for Paychex in their Training Center. She later left to start her own company, Learning Out Loud, as a coach to facilitate interpersonal skills and conflict management in the corporate world. She also began an improv comedy group, Some Assembly Required, for a similar purpose in an entertaining environment.
She eventually became a freelance consultant, trainer, and documentation writer for several companies, most recently Silotech Group, Inc., headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
Diane was a strong advocate for community theater. When she moved to Rochester, she became involved in many different theater groups including Penfield Players, Footlight Players, and eventually established Black Sheep Theater, serving as Artistic Director until the troupe folded in 2021. While with Black Sheep, “Feeding the Moonfish” under Diane’s direction received first place TANYS Award, and later earned second place in the National AACT Festival. She became an adjudicator for TANYS, traveling across New York State to evaluate and advise other theater groups as to how to improve their artistic skills and performance.
While her theater focus changed over time, she still enjoyed the arts and loved to paint. Even though she preferred canvas, she dabbled in glass painting, glass fusion, and glass pulling. She always looked for opportunities to learn new skills and meet like-minded individuals.
Diane was a very caring and generous soul. Anyone who ever needed help, Diane would always lend a hand, no questions asked. She had a soft spot in her heart for animals. She always had a “fur baby” in her house, and oftentimes more than one. She had a dream of someday opening up an animal rescue, taking in shelter animals, especially older ones or those nobody else wanted to adopt.
A close friend recently described Diane as “sharp, creative, and had this rare ability to bring people together through art…She believed in people before they believed in themselves. That was her magic.”
Diane is survived by her mother, Jacqueline “Jackie” Mashia of Holyoke; her brother, Daniel Mashia of Chicopee; her sister, Linda McNamee and her husband, Paul, and her niece and nephew, Gwyneth and Evan, all of Burlington, MA; her aunts, Claire Oberman of Trinity, FL and Irene Choquette of Lebanon, CT; and her many cousins, friends, and extended family members. She was predeceased by her father, Robert D. “Bob” Mashia who was Called Home on February 10, 2025.
Her funeral will be held on Friday, December 5, 2025 beginning at the St. Pierre-Phaneuf Fairview Chapels, (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 8:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at Saint Anne Church, 30 College Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her burial will follow the Mass at Sainte Rose Cemetery, 49 Olsen Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday, December 5, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to her Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations in Diane’s name can be made to the South Hadley Players, 34 Pine Hill Road, South Hadley, MA 01075, the BPAPA (Burlington Performing Arts Parents Association), 123 Cambridge Street, Burlington, MA 01803, or the Lazy Cat Lounge Lowell, 177 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852. For more details and to leave her family condolence messages, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com
