Darlene R. Breen

With immense sadness, we announce the passing of Darlene Breen on March 3, 2023. She was known to many as Dar, but her favorite name was Mom, and she was a great one. She is preceded in death by her mother, Rae M. Cope, father, Samuel Irvin Brittain, and stepfather, Robert F. Cope. She is survived by her brother, Jon Brittain, sister Janelle Brittain, stepsisters, Niki Robbins and Dana Mortensen, children, James 'Trip' Breen (Jessica Pearson), Marnie Breen (Jenn Fourman), and extended family, Amy and Brandon Fourman. She also is survived by her very dear friend, Carol (Hal) Swift, she spoke to Carol nearly every day for over 55 years.

Darlene was born in East Palestine, Ohio, on December 1, 1939, and later moved to Columbiana as a teenager. She attended Bowling Green State University, earning a degree in social work. She started her career working as a juvenile probation officer in Dayton, Ohio. In 1977, she began working in real estate, a career she loved, where she positively impacted the lives of many families, made lifelong friends, and served on local, state, and national real estate leadership committees. During her career she was named Dayton and Ohio's Realtor of the Year, elected to be President of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors in 1996, and in 2006 became the President of the Ohio Association of Realtors. In 2010, she served as the National Association of Realtors Vice President for region six.

Darlene loved cooking and many of her happiest times were spent preparing meals for friends and family. Laughter and joy filled her home! Darlene enjoyed traveling and seeing the county she was so proud of, especially when getting to do so with her family. Darlene's greatest joy in life was being a mother. Both of her children were competitive swimmers. She volunteered to become a swimming official and continued to do so for many years after her children's swimming careers ended in an effort to support youth swimming. When not officiating, you could find her giving pre-race massages and pep talks to her children and their teammates. Darlene gave freely of her time to better other's lives. She was an outstanding mother, sister, friend, and leader.

A service celebrating her life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 125 N Wilkinson St, Dayton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Melanoma Research Alliance, www.curemelanoma.org/tribute.

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