Born July 1, 1931 in Nekoma, KS to Onie & Nora (Baldwin) Mills. She died in Tulsa, OK on March 30, 2020.

She married the love of her life, Ted Sandstrom, in Nekoma, KS on June 3, 1951. They were greatly blessed with 3 daughters...Dee Ann, Julaine and Brenda.

Diora was a 1949 graduate of LaCrosse High School and attended 3 years at Ft Hays State University. She became an Elementary school teacher, teaching in Galatia, Millberger and Heizer grade schools.

She enjoyed working with people and held many jobs doing that. She was the Welcome Wagon Hostess welcoming newcomers in Hays, KS and Casper, WY. She was also a substitute teacher in Casper for their neighborhood elementary school.
When Ted was transferred to Tulsa, OK with Amoco, she began working for the Tulsa County Election Board so she could get to know her neighbors. She also became an Artex (Liquid Embroidery) instructor. She worked her way up to State Manager over Oklahoma, and parts of Texas and Kansas, working with several hundred ladies. When Ted was again transferred... to Houston, TX... instead of retiring, she volunteered at the new Cypress Fairbanks Hospital, and soon became an employee filling out the birth certificates. She also worked part time for 2 doctors: Dr. Himel, a family doctor and Dr. Tang, a plastic surgeon. When Ted retired and they moved back to Tulsa, she again worked for the election board, and also became a volunteer for Community Care Insurance Senior Center. She and Ted assisted with the free movies for members, where she greeted the members and Ted made the popcorn until he passed away in 2004 of lung cancer. Diora continued assisting with the movies and one day they asked if she would be interested in working in the office, again helping people, which she enjoyed doing very much. She did this until she suffered a severe stroke in May of 2018, which left her in a wheel chair.

Diora was a member of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church since 1966, and volunteered in many ways over the years...teaching, sponsoring the youth group, visiting members, and the prayer line phone tree. She was also a member of OHCE, Oklahoma Home Community Education, since 1994. She held many positions...Vice President, Secretary, and Committee Chair. The position she liked the most was serving at the Information Desk at the Tulsa County Fair, where she greeted attendees and assisted with their needs.


Ted and Diora had many different motor homes and loved to travel. They enjoyed seeing the many wonders of the United States and even got to visit the islands of Hawaii and the Bahamas.

She was preceded in death by her husband Ted, baby daughter Jo Ella, step-granddaughter Jaime Farless, parents, baby sister Trilby, brother Delbert Lyndal "DL" Mills & his wife, Norma, sister in-law Betty Jean (Sandstrom)
Pivonka, & brother in laws Jerry Greathouse and Dean Wiechman.

She is survived by 3 daughters: Dee Ann and Bill Gibbons, Julaine and Steve Farless, and Brenda Noland; 7 grandchildren: Dr. Teddy Gibbons, Patricia Gibbons Barton and husband Seth, Jessica Thomas, Chelsea Farless Petges and husband Kevin, Nicole Farless, Shelby Noland Wheeler and husband Madison , and Kaylee Noland; 6 great-grandchildren, Danielle and Natalie Barton, Kennedy and Elnora Grace Petges, and Remington and Maverick Wheeler.

Also surviving are brothers and sisters, June Mills Greathouse of Hutchinson, KS, Lorrayne Mills Eveleigh and husband Robert of Great Bend, KS, George Mills and wife LaDena of Oklahoma City, OK, Bernard Mills and wife Ruth of Broomsfield, CO, and Arlyn Mills and wife Gail of Johnstown, CO; in-laws, Ron and Cathy Sandstrom of LaCrosse, KS, and Wanda Lee Wiechman of Cheney, KS; and many nieces, nephews and close friends.

She always felt blessed to have such a close loving family, first her parents and brothers and sisters, then Ted and his family became her family, and then their own 3 daughters and their families.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Burial will be beside her husband, Ted Sandstrom at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, OK.

Memorials can be sent to Memorial Drive United Methodist Church for a Silk Flower fund. This is to use when Dee Ann makes flower arrangements for the church...and for the replacement of candles for the wedding candelabras, purchased in memory of Ted. To sign the guestbook go to www.moorefuneral.com .

There will be a memorial service announced at a later date. Diora will be laid to rest in Memorial Park Cemetery, Tulsa.