Diane Thurlow

Bozrah — Diane Elizabeth Thurlow, 85, of Bozrah passed away peacefully and surrounded by family at Backus Hospital on Sunday, May 7, 2023, after a brief illness.

Diane was born Feb. 4, 1938, the daughter of Harry and Alice Stanley. Diane attended the University of Michigan, where she graduated in 1959 with a degree in Education. She met the love of her life James Peter Thurlow while attending the university, and they married Aug. 22, 1959. Jim and Diane spent the next 63 years growing and raising their loving family, always providing a perfect example of what true love was.

Diane then obtained her master’s degree in education from Connecticut College.

She went on to teach in Ledyard, where she spent the majority of her career teaching kindergarten at Juliet W. Long and Gales Ferry Elementary Schools. Diane’s love for children and education inspired countless students of hers to become educators themselves. She will always be remembered for her sense of humor and for the attention she paid to every child who passed through her classroom.

In their younger years, Diane and Jim spent much of their free time traveling the country showing their prized winning Quarter horses with their daughter and son. After retiring, Diane shared her love of traveling with her grandchildren, taking them on summer-long vacations across North America in their RV. As the grandchildren grew, Diane and Jim settled into a lovely lake house in Shapleigh, Maine, where the family would visit them frequently and continued to build lasting memories. After several years in Maine, Diane and Jim returned to Connecticut, where they eventually settled into their new home in Bozrah.

Diane had a love for artwork and antiques which adorned their home and made it their own. Diane also loved watching her family grow as the grandchildren married and brought great-grandchildren into her life. She developed her own nickname as the “Queen Mother” of the family and always had the personality to fit. Though never one for technology, Diane quickly learned to master her Portal so that she could video call with her family and with her great-grandchildren. Diane and Jim always instilled the importance of family and showered them all with love every chance that they had.

Diane is survived by her loving husband Jim Thurlow; her daughter Christine Thurlow Hansen; her son James Scott Thurlow; her grandchildren, Abigail Elizabeth Thurlow, Michael Christopher Hansen and his wife Deanna, James Tyler Hansen and his wife Jayme; and her great-grandchildren, Maxwell Christian Hansen, James Thomas Hansen and a great-granddaughter on the way. She was predeceased by her parents, Harry and Alice Stanley; and her son-in-law Mace Hansen.

All services will be private. The Dinoto Funeral Home is assisting the family.