Funeral arrangements for Seminole County School Board member Diane Bauer were announced Friday.

Bauer passed away suddenly at the age of 65 on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Visitation is planned for Monday, Nov. 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Baldwin and Fairchild East Altamonte Chapel in Altamonte Springs. A prayer service will be at 7 p.m.

Funeral services will be Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. at Saints Peters and Paul Catholic Church in Winter Park.

Bauer’s family released a special tribute, detailing all of her accomplishments:

The family of Seminole County School Board Member Diane Bauer is sad to report that she passed away unexpectedly in Altamonte Springs, Florida in the early evening on Tuesday, October 29th, 2013. She was 65.

Diane Bauer had been a resident of Florida since 1961 and a resident of Seminole County since 1973. She had been married to Frederick C. Bauer since 1968, and they have five children. All of her children attended elementary, middle and high school in Seminole County and are graduates of Lake Howell High School and Seminole State College. She was an active member of Seminole County PTA since 1974. Diane and her family are members of Saints Peter and Paul Church where she taught religious education classes for eight years.

First elected to the school board in 1998, she won four consecutive terms to the seat from District One. Her campaign slogan was taken from one of the key axioms in life: “we must always remember to keep fighting for our children’s future.” Diane served several years as Vice Chairman and was elected as Chairman in 2007. 2013 marked her fortieth year as a public school activist. Prior to her service as a school board member, she served as President, Vice President, and Treasurer of PTA in addition to being elected as Chairman of School Advisory Councils at elementary, middle and high schools. She was a World Class Schools Graduate Champion and a graduate of Leadership Seminole, Class of 2000. She was a past director for Florida Hospital Altamonte and served as a member of the Seminole County Community Alliance. As a member of the Community Alliance, she chaired the Committee for A Safe Haven for Newborns to comply with Florida's Safe Haven Law. Her leadership on this committee resulted in Seminole County being the first county in the state to develop, print, and distribute posters (in two languages) indicating Safe Baby Stations where a newborn infant could be taken and left safely without fear of prosecution for the parent. Diane developed and implemented the process for the delayed broadcast of school board meetings on SGTV along with securing a dedicated education channel for Seminole County Public Schools. This dedicated channel has enabled us to meet future needs as the availability of distance learning becomes more and more important for the students of Seminole County for many years.

To better promote interactive relationships between city and county officials and the school board, Diane served as the board representative to CALNO for over a decade and was Vice Chairman of the board in 2013. The membership of CALNO represents every city along with the Seminole County Board of Commissioners. CALNO meets monthly to discuss how the needs of Seminole County may best be met and to exchange current topics of interactive importance. Diane felt the establishment and continued support of this coalition was vital as our community mutually address concurrency issues and the difficult economic times facing public education.

Through her work with state and local officials, Diane was instrumental in helping to expand the magnet program at Seminole High School. Her efforts on behalf of Seminole County Public Schools secured a state grant which funds one of the district’s most prestigious magnet programs, EMT. The graduates of this program help to meet the ever growing medical needs of the community we share. She also served on the Steering Committee for SECME, an enrichment program promoting mathematics and science throughout our Seminole County Public Schools. Her service as the board representative to the Seminole County Public Schools Energy Task Force resulted in the saving of several million dollars previously earmarked for energy costs. On the state level, Diane served as a Director for FSBA (Florida School Board Association). Nationally, she served as a member of an Education Advisory Council advising U.S. Congressman Tom Feeney on issues directly effecting the education of our children. She served as a member of the Board of Directors for Healthy Start Coalition along with her committee assignments on the Gifted Advisory Committee and the Region 5 Task Force.

Diane was a published author, having worked as a freelance writer, columnist, and editor. She wrote under the penname of “D.C. Bauer” and often published popular “My Word” columns for the Orlando Sentinel on a variety of topics ranging from the joyous trials and tribulations of family life to her observations on the importance and evolving nature of public education.

A true conservative, Diane remained active in local politics in the last two decades in Seminole County. On Friday, September 27, 2013, the Seminole County Republican Party recognized her contributions when she became the inaugural winner of the party’s “Ronald Reagan Conservative Courage Award.” The award is given only to those who are committed to preserving and furthering conservative principles and ideas through public service.

Diane once said, “Every child holds a key to our future and will meet, on our behalf, challenges not yet known to us. While we may not know what those challenges will be, we do know that education is the first step in meeting them. As we work together to meet the difficulties facing public education today, we make certain that we will continue to guide every child’s journey toward tomorrow.”

On her passing, Diane’s husband Frederick stated, “Seminole County has lost a strong advocate for public education, my children have lost a loving mother, and I have lost my beloved wife.”

Diane is survived by her husband, Frederick, two sons, three daughters, one son-in-law, a brother, an uncle, numerous cousins, and her much loved baby granddaughter, Lydia. Her family wishes to express their deepest gratitude for all the kind thoughts, prayers, and condolences that have been shared with them.

A viewing, open to the public, will be held on Monday evening from 5:30pm until 8:30pm at the Baldwin and Fairchild East Altamonte Chapel (994 East Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, Florida). A requiem mass will be held Wednesday afternoon at Saints Peters and Paul Catholic Church in Goldenrod, Florida with burial to immediately follow at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Orlando. Condolences can be shared with the family in an online guestbook at http://baldwin.tributes.com/our_obituaries/Diane-E-Bauer-96610292.