Born and raised in Brookline MA, Diane was very proud of her city-girl Bostonian roots. She was the daughter of Reginald A. Dunn and Florence A. (Brode) Dunn. She credited her faith foundation to the strong lessons she learned as a student of Christian Science. Her mother's work at the Mother Church in Boston and the values instilled by her loving parents shaped every aspect of her faith journey and her boundless love for life.

From a young age, her musical talents took flight when she was a student at Moulton Pianoforte School of Music at Boston Conservatory. She comes from a musical family including her grandmother, who was a professional cornet play in an all-women's orchestra, and her brother who had a career as a high school music director in Chappaqua NY. She spent her school years performing in theater, piano concerts and with many choral groups.

Her fondest childhood memories are of the summers spent at her grandparent's camp on Oldham Pond in Pembroke MA.  Every story recounts the strength and peace she developed while navigating the water in her grandfather's rowboat. These are the times in her life that rooted her love of family and tradition and legacy, including her lineage to the south shore of Massachusetts and the Mayflower/Richard Warren. She spent her entire life documenting and sharing her family genealogy.

She married Clifford B. Porter, and together they built a warm and active family life in Lexington, MA. Diane was deeply involved in her community, serving as a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Mother Advisor for her daughter's Lexington Rainbow Girl Assembly. She was an active supporter of her husband's Masonic endeavors and played a key role as a parent volunteer with the Battle Green Chapter of DeMolay, where her sons were actively involved. As a loyal and committed community leader and patriot, and fittingly a resident of historic Lexington, she ran for Senate in Massachusetts in the late 1970s.

Diane's professional journey was just as dynamic. She worked as an executive assistant at DC Heath Publishing, a division of Raytheon, where she met her second husband, Thomas H. Burbank. The couple first settled in Exeter, NH, where Diane worked as a Human Resources Personnel Manager at Grinnell/TYCO. Never one to shy away from adventure, she auditioned for a summer production at Prescott Park in Portsmouth and was cast in a tap-dancing lead role in No, No, Nanette! -a perfect example of her energy and love for performance.

Diane and Tom later moved to Vermont, when Tom became the principal at Berkshire Elementary School. Diane adored their two-acre property a few miles from the Canadian border, embracing both her city-girl love for the bustle of Beacon Street and her country-girl joy of living among Vermont's rolling pastures and the neighborhood cows.

When Tom retired, and their first grandchild was born, they moved to their forever home; the most beautiful garden home anyone could dream of, in Eliot ME. It is in this fairy land place they built the most amazing life for each other and their family. Together they had five children and nine grandchildren all of whom enjoyed the literal "song and dance" from Grandma every time they were together.

Diane went back to work, once again as an executive assistant, this time at Fleet Bank in Portsmouth, later Bank of America, and worked closely with leadership on many large-scale mergers and projects both in their downtown Portsmouth office and was very often on the early C&J bus to the bank's Boston offices. She was a striking presence, always dressed to the nines, confidently carrying her briefcase in high-heeled shoes, with a skip in her step.

As expected from a person with Diane's energy, zest for life and ability to both lead and do, she jumped right into the local community activities. She was a member of the Eliot Comprehensive Planning committee. She was an active member and Deacon at First Congregational Church of Eliot and shared her lovely soprano voice in the church choir. Her passion for her faith and her love of music continued to fill her life, and the lives of her family.

Her daughter introduced her to the Community Chorus at South Berwick where she treasured the mother-daughter experience and gift of song with her for three decades. Diane jumped right in as a volunteer with this group also. She was an original CCSB board member, contributor to the annual Crescendo newsletter (and creator of its name), the hostess extraordinaire for after concert potluck parties and the caretaker and organizer of countless CCSB, and church, fundraising plant sales in her gorgeous gardens. She never, ever, stopped singing and dancing, and was quoted as saying "Singing feels as natural to me as breathing."

She and Tom cherished their time in their garden, on their motorcycle, camping and skiing, sunning at the beach, reading on the back porch, watching countless varieties of songbirds, and taking their daily coffee break and card games. They always kept score, and she loved ribbing Tom when she was winning! But nothing matched their love for ballroom dancing and holding each other in a warm embrace as they would glide across the dance floor, tender and happy and loved.

Diane and Tom traveled as often as they could to visit her sons and family in Orlando FL. The days were always filled with sunshine and activities and plenty of food and parties and ended every night under a blanket with flashlight story time. Never a dull moment. Closer to home they spent every week at local sporting events, school events, celebrations, homework sessions and holidays with the grandchildren who lived locally. They never missed a moment. Whether near or far, her grandchildren know with great certainty how much she loved them.

Diane was predeceased by her parents, Reginald and Florence (Joan) Dunn, her brother Ronald A. Dunn, her first husband, Clifford B. Porter, in 1985, and her second husband, Thomas H. Burbank, in 2024. She leaves behind her son Stephen Porter and his wife Cheryl of Orlando, FL; her daughter Susan Downey and her husband John of Eliot, ME; and her son Douglas Porter and his wife Dawn of Orlando, FL. She is also survived by her stepdaughters Elizabeth Conaton and her husband Thomas of Bedford, NH, and Cynthia Billings and husband Gregory of Arizona.

Diane was the proud grandmother to Blake Downey and his wife Maria, Brooke (Downey) Gately and her husband Daniel, Clifford Porter, Zachary Porter, Nathaniel Porter, Sabrina Porter, Thomas Conaton, Joseph Conaton, and Christopher Billings. She also leaves behind her beloved cousin Joan Bishop, along with a host of nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends.

Her memory will forever be cherished, her stories forever echoed, and her song forever sung.

The family will host a funeral service on Friday, May 2, 2025, at 10 am. at the First Congregational Church of Eliot, in Eliot Maine.

In lieu of flowers donations to First Congregational Church of Eliot, 1361 State Road, Eliot ME 03903. https://www.eliotucc.org

Community Chorus at South Berwick, PO Box 564, South Berwick ME 03908. https://www.ccsb-sing.org/home