Dianne Olko

Our mother, Dianne Joy (Whitney, Hodgins) Olko, passed away peacefully early Wednesday morning, November 29th, 2023 after a heroic battle with Alzheimer’s. She was born May 6th, 1940 in Stafford Springs, Connecticut to Ernest and Louise Whitney. Living up to her middle name, Dianne brought much “Joy” in life to her family and anyone she met with her beautiful smile and genuinely loving personality. She had a sassy, fun-loving attitude and greatly enjoyed making others smile and laugh. She was a talented artist who saw beauty in all things, especially in nature. She especially enjoyed summering in Cape Cod and traveling all over. Crowned Ms. Enfield in 1960, Ms. Princess Bell Telephone shortly thereafter, Dianne also competed in the Ms. Connecticut pageant. But she was more than just a beauty queen. A very intelligent woman with many talents, she raised her children by example to work hard and with integrity. A person of strong faith, she became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the early 1970’s and served faithfully for over 50 years. She thoroughly loved studying the bible and just being with her spiritual brothers and sisters, while also helping several others come to the same understanding and appreciation of her God, Jehovah. Dianne is survived by her daughter, Lisa Standing of New Hartford, Connecticut, and son William Hodgins of Palm Springs, California. She had three grandchildren she absolutely adored, Nathan, Briana, and Matthew Standing, as well as two great-grandchildren, Sophia Joy and Wesley. She also treasured her many dear nieces and nephews. Dianne is predeceased by her parents as well as her older brother, Bernard Whitney, and younger sister, Claudia Whitney Quinn. During Dianne’s earlier stages of Alzheimer’s, she often said that she was looking for her “pieces” whenever she couldn’t remember something or when trying to explain something. Well, all of her “pieces” have come together again. Rest easy, mom. We all love you eternally and “bigger than space.”