(This post was from our class Facebook page, written by Denise Brewer, and Diane's sister-in-law, Allison Beach, posted her memorial service). Diane was one of my closest friends in high school and beyond, but we had lost touch in recent years. I was heartbroken to learn of her passing and was sad that more of you did not know or remember her. Strangely, I had actually been thinking of her the night before I saw the post. Allison, the photograph you shared of her last evening was so full of joy and love, and Diane looked exactly how I pictured her at this stage of our lives.
We continued to stay in touch after she moved to Texas with her family after graduation. This was, of course, before the days of cell phones, emails and text messages, and long-distance calls cost money back then, so we communicated via good old snail mail with long, very detailed letters back and forth. My father died in a plane crash in November 1973, and Diane was an incredible, loving, present, constant source of support to me during that time. She and I went on an infamous spring break trip to South Padre Island with another friend and Memorial alum, Becky Romine, in 1974. We were lucky to survive that trip for several reasons! I saw Diane regularly for several years after she and Robert moved to Norman, OK where I lived, and she participated in my wedding. I still remember her amazing spaghetti sauce that was a true labor of love, cooked for hours! She gave me her recipe and I tried to recreate it, but it was never as good as hers.
I connected with her again briefly after she had moved to Canada. Keisha was about 5 years old at that time and was the adorable spitting image of her mama. Diane was over the moon in love with that little girl, and we had a good laugh about how she always used to insist she would never have children. I have actually saved Diane's letters to me for all these decades. There are 22 of them (many as long as 15-20 pages!) all written in her beautiful hand in the 1973-1974 time frame. I have reached out to Keisha via FB Messenger to see if she would like to have them but have not received a response, so she may not use Messenger. Allison Beach, could you possibly connect me with Keisha? RIP Diane, my lovely friend ❤