Diane Lynn Williams was born to Gwendolyn May (McGrady) Williams and Russell Gordon (Flash to his Army buddies) Williams on March 23rd in 1947, two years after the end of World War II. It was a chilly spring day in Warwick Rhode Island. The posted high temperature was 46º. The sky was clear. Flash was tall and rail thin with an outgoing personality. He had seen a lot during the war. Gwen was very beautiful and shy. She was dazzled by Flash's outgoing personality. When Diane came along it was a party. Two years later sister Betty joined the festivities. Somewhere along the way they lived in Germany for two years near where Flash was now serving in the Air Force. Diane remembered having a maid. Back in Rhode Island they settled into a small house next to Gwen's mother, Greta McGrady, on Nash Avenue. Four years later, when the party was winding down, along came a little brother, Russell. The marriage broke down shortly thereafter and Gwen and her three kids moved in with Gram across the yard. Flash headed west. Diane was redheaded, freckled, loud, proud and definitely the leader of the pack. The family was poor but surrounded by cousins and a neighborhood full of children. They were never hungry. Gwen's sister lived next door and four of her five brothers lived nearby and they all had kids about the same ages. One brother stayed in Australia after being wounded in the war. Gwen always worked two jobs and sometimes three. She once worked as a waitress at a steak house and met a lot of celebrities including her favorite, Ava Gardner. Diane was particularly fond of Gwen's stint behind the counter at Jenny's Ice Cream as there were often samples brought home. Diane remembered getting surplus government cheese and peanut butter, turkeys from local service clubs at Thanksgiving and a generally supportive community. There were lots of Irish, Italian and Eastern European families with kids everywhere. Growing up in 1950s Rhode Island was good. There are a million memories from those times. Like the time she and cousin Ronnie left the gate to a nearby dairy farm open and we awoke to cows all over the neighborhood, including uncle Perry's vegetable garden. He was not happy. It would be great to hear more stores from friends and family in this part of the remembrance. In about 1963 Gwen met and fell for Judson Hollis Hayes, a Navy airplane mechanic from South Georgia. About the same time, Jud's ex-wife passed away and left him with two children, Duane and Melanie. It was decided the families would merge. Jud arranged a reposting from Rhode Island to a Navy airbase in Olathe Kansas and Gwen packed the three kids into a '55 Bel Air and headed west to join up with Jud's kids in Kansas. They all met and moved in together in a modest three-bedroom home across the tracks from Olathe's town square. Diane was 16 and a junior in high school leaving behind a lot of friends and family. Things were tense for a while and Diane and Gwen decided it would be best if she moved back to Rhode Island and lived with aunt Doris to finish high school. A lot of Diane's life after that and up until the 70's is a mystery. She lived with Doris for a while but later lived on her own. It would be great to hear more stores from friends and family to fill out this part of the remembrance. In 1967 Diane birthed Joy Diane Loftis and two years later she, husband Ray Loftis and tiny Joy moved to Jacksonville. They rented a house in Arlington and lived quietly near Gwen and Jud. Diane had a lot of jobs during these times including waitressing at places like 'The Ranch House' and 'Angelos.' Somewhere along the way she and Ray split. Later she landed a pretty good gig managing 'The Gator Bowl Inn' and met Jerry Cohan, the love of her life. Jerry had an extended family and Diane settled in running their lives and being Mom to his kids. They lived with his brother in a sprawling house with a pool in Arlington. Diane eventually moved into the film business, starting out in craft services and later going to makeup classes and becoming an accomplished makeup artist. Besides working in the local film community she worked on a few Florida based TV series, including 'Second Noah.' At some point she also toured with a 60's revival show handling wardrobe and makeup. Maybe some film community friends can fill in the blanks here. No one worked harder or enjoyed their work more than Diane. And no one was prouder of her than Jerry. Their relationship flourished and many trips and adventures ensued. Granddaughters Jennifer Myers and Tristan Leatherman started having families so great grandchildren happened. Diane was delighted and life was good other than some health issues. In 2017, sadly, Jerry passed away. His brother sold the house and Diane had to start all over… from scratch. With the help of family and friends she and her daughter Joy found a safe place to live, moved in together along with close friends Lynda Conn and Ester Davis and started a new life, sort of a 'Golden Girls' thing. Health issues persisted for both her and Joy and last year Joy passed away. Dark times. Then Diane was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and, well, the bottom fell out. The past few months have been pretty difficult. Diane accepted hospice care and spent a few weeks at home under the loving care of surrogate daughter Lynda, then her final days in a hospice facility. Diane was a positive person with an unbelievably sunny disposition. She had a wonderful way of turning adversity into hope. She overcame every obstacle presented, and there were many, but never lost perspective or got overly depressed. She was very strong and has a beautiful soul. She was much loved. Her family, and the countless friends and colleagues she collected over the years, will sorely miss her. Diane is survived by granddaughters Jennifer Myers and Tristan Leatherman, sister Betty Williamson, brother Russell Williams, sister Melanie Power, half-brother Danny Williams, half-sister Myrna Aikins, wonderful friend and care-giver Lynda Conn, uncle Jimmy Williams, innumerable cousins and countless friends and colleagues from all over the world.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Arlington Park Funeral Home.