Diana R. "DeeDee" Fuentes, 67, a champion of journalism and diversity in news media, passed away March 20, 2026.

DeeDee worked as a newspaper editor in San Antonio and Laredo and was a national figure in journalism. She was a fierce advocate of freedom of the press and the need for transparency and accountability of public figures and institutions.

In 2021, she became the first person of color to serve as executive director of Investigative Reporters & Editors Inc., a nonprofit that trains journalists on improving the quality of investigative reporting. Following her attendance at a freedom of information conference in Washington D.C., she sustained injuries from an accidental fall while visiting a friend and died from her injuries.

A public visitation will be held on Friday, March 27, 2026 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Sunset Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 2020 N. Bedell Ave., Del Rio, Texas.

The public visitation will continue on Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM with a chapel service at 10:30 AM -11:30 AM at Sunset Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 2020 N. Bedell Ave., Del Rio, Texas. The interment will follow at Westlawn Cemetery, end of W. 2nd St, Del Rio, Texas.

DeeDee was born on Sept. 27, 1958 in Corpus Christi, but grew up in Laredo. She was the oldest of five siblings. She was a natural leader in her family, her sister, Lydia Aranda, told the San Antonio Express-News, where DeeDee had worked as a reporter and later as an editor. In their backyard, DeeDee would play ringleader in a make-believe circus for the neighborhood kids in an act that included a lion-taming performance featuring the family dog.

Jaime Fuentes said his big sister was the peacemaker, the boss and "the one who kept things from getting out of hand."

An honor roll student, Fuentes was on the debate team, student council and newspaper staff at Nixon High School in Laredo.

"Even in high school, she always seemed to have a plan," her brother said. "Whatever she imagined for herself, it always seemed to involve people, education, information and real personal connection."

As a budding journalist at Laredo Junior College, she was often "making waves" and "getting into trouble" with the administration, her sister said. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Longtime State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who taught Fuentes when she was a student at Laredo Junior College, said Fuentes "made a difference" through her work and advocacy.

DeeDee continued to nurture her love of the theater as a producer of the Gridiron show, a satire show put on by the Society of Professional Journalists San Antonio Pro chapter to raise money for students interested in journalism as a career. She was also a jazz music enthusiast.

But it was her love of writing, and her belief in the importance of the free press to democracy, that sustained her long career in journalism.

"(Writing) has always been a part of my life,'' she once said. "The idea of being a reporter was really cool. I love people and I love writing. It just came naturally to me.'' As an editor, she wanted reporters to shine and she worked on their articles until she felt there was nothing more to do.

One editor at the Express-News referred to her as "Tinker'' because he said she would tinker with other people's work.

Fuentes was a reporter for nearly 20 years — first at the Laredo News — during the late 1970s to late 1990s. She was also a reporter and then an editor at the Laredo Morning Times, San Antonio Light, Beaumont Enterprise and San Antonio Express-News.

In all, Fuentes worked for nearly 50 years in journalism. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2022. In 2023, she was honored with the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists' Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism.

She was also a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Texas State University, where she earned a master's degree in mass communications and media studies.

Among the stories DeeDee was most proud of during her reporting career was covering the 1993 Branch Davidian siege near Waco and the subsequent trial in San Antonio. Other highlights include coverage of the 1991 Luby's mass shooting in Killeen that claimed 23 lives, and the 1994 assassination of Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio. She interviewed five Mexican presidents and four U.S. presidents. She was the first female managing editor of the Laredo Morning Times and was honored by the city of Laredo with DeeDee Fuentes Day in 2011.

At the onset of the Black Lives Matter movement, DeeDee was once again out in the field, guiding and protecting her reporters who were covering the protests in downtown San Antonio.

Her commitment to journalism extended beyond the newsroom as she served as president of the Texas Managing Editors and was a lifetime member and former secretary and financial officer of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

She is survived by two brothers, Jaime (Marie) Fuentes of San Antonio, TX. and Marco (Ana) Fuentes of Laredo, TX.; and two sisters, Lydia (Sergio) Aranda of Houston, TX and Dr. Sylvia E. (KaShunda Davis) Fuentes of Grand Prairie, TX.; nieces Dr. Andrea (Dr. Robert) Gonzalez of Houston, TX., April Cunningham of Madison, WI., Bianca Calloway of Princeton, TX., Christina (Dr. Jason) Hearne, of San Antonio, TX., Geraldine (Rafael) Moronta of West Palm Beach, FL., Graciela Fuentes of San Antonio, TX., Mackenzie Turner of Grand Prairie, TX., Nina Simone Davis of Washington, D.C., and Ysa (Curtis) Aranda-Ryder of Aubrey, TX.; nephews Elijah (Alette) Fuentes of Indianapolis, IN., Estevan (Jina) Fuentes of Houston, TX. and Evan Aranda of San Antonio, TX.; in-laws Rosie and John Litman of Jarrell, TX.; sister-in-law Nancy (Rob) Cunningham of Leander, TX.; and a number of great nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband Raymond A. "Ray" Gomez Jr., and her parents, Leonel and Armandina Fuentes.

In lieu of flowers, DeeDee's family is requesting donations to an endowment in her name at Texas State University.