Darlene Himes Manzano, 79, of Winchester, Virginia, passed away on Monday, June 15, 2026.

Darlene was born in Winchester in 1946. She was the daughter of the late Frederick Leon Himes and Lucille Wachter Himes, both of Berkeley Springs, WV.

Darlene loved to be outside in the bright sunshine. Her favorite place in the world was the back deck of her house overlooking the woods where she could watch the resident deer and groundhogs. She also loved to travel, taking frequent cruises to Florida and the Caribbean.

Darlene graduated from John Handley High School and attended Randolph-Macon Women’s College. She worked for many years in men’s and women’s fashion at the Bell’s Clothing store, which is still a fixture of Winchester’s downtown historic district. She also taught English at John Handley High School. After a serious illness in the late 1970s, she rebuilt her career starting with Joel Stowe’s Coldwell Banker real estate firm where she was the office manager and virtual den mother to a collection of rambunctious real estate salesmen. After several years there she began her long federal career working for the Small Business Administration in one of the few unclassified offices on the notoriously secretive Paris Mountain installation. Her office focused on helping small businesses recover after natural disasters. During the final years of her federal career she joined the U.S. intelligence community, doing work of which she was immensely proud.

She is survived by her son Richard Joseph Manzano, Jr. and his wife Melissa Ann Mioni, as well as her favorite grand-dog Jazz.

The Manzano family would like to thank the selfless and caring staff at Commonwealth Senior Living’s Memory Care Unit, as well as the staff and volunteers of Gentiva Hospice for their dedication in caring for Darlene’s needs before and during her passing.

A celebration of life gathering will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Omps Funeral Home on Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia.