Diane (Zube) LaForte

After enduring one too many hospital stays, Diane Marguerite LaForte vowed never to return to a hospital. She kept that promise and died peacefully on May 12, 2025, a few months before her 80th birthday.

Diane, the eldest child of Clara and Charles Zube, was born in Chicago, Illinois. She didn’t remain an only child for long; eight siblings followed: Rita, Linda, Barbara, Loretta, Chuck, Sue, John and Janet. Diane set a high standard for her family, excelling at school and always helping her younger brothers and sisters.

Diane attended Saints Peter and Paul School and Maria High School before transferring to Fenger High School, where she met her high school sweetheart and husband, Joseph “Butch” LaForte. After graduation, she worked in downtown Chicago while taking night classes and then married Joe in 1966. Their first son, Joey (spouse Tina), arrived just days before Diane’s beloved father passed away. In the years that followed, Diane devoted herself to raising her growing family: sons Chuck (Ivy) and Bryan (Christie), and daughters Rene (Ben), Donna (Frank) and Christine (Tim).

From the South Side of Chicago, the family moved to Evergreen, Colorado, and then to Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Diane balanced motherhood with her professional career. She joined AT&T in 1993, later worked for the IRS (her stories of crazy taxpayers amused everyone), and retired in 2020.

After Joe’s passing, she married James Bennett in 2017, welcoming him into her close‑knit family. Jim coaxed her into hunting a handful of times, but Diane’s true joys were reading, evenings out, and cooking—especially the bounty he brought home. Her family couldn’t get enough of her spaghetti, corned beef, casseroles, and chocolate chip pancakes. Thanksgiving won’t be the same without her signature stuffing, which she tweaked to match whatever ingredients she had. And “Pizza Fridays” with her grandchildren remained a cherished tradition.

With a keen intellect and mischievous sense of humor, Diane could turn any situation into fun. Her laughter lit up the room, and everyone around her would laugh until tears flowed. She loved tackling NYT games, playing Wordle with her sisters and sister‑in‑law Laurie, and shouting out the answers while watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Her boisterous energy and lively exclamations of “Aye yai yai!” will always stay with us. Her competitive spirit shone through in cards, Scrabble, and Qwirkle, whether she was playing with her siblings, her children, or her twelve cherished grandchildren—Marguerite, Francesca, Maxwell, Sam, Anna, Josephine, Carissa, Josselyn, Gianna, Gus, AJ, and Liliana.

Long before “sustainable” was a buzzword, Diane was into thrifting, sewing clothes for her children, and drinking boxed wine like a true environmentalist. Supportive, kind, and affectionate, she delighted in connecting with loved ones and colleagues over red wine, though whether she loved her vino or her Dyson vacuum more will forever remain a mystery.

Honoring Diane’s wishes, a funeral service will not take place. She embraced life fully and made the most of every moment with her loved ones. A true force of nature and warrior at heart, she will be deeply missed. Donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation in her memory. May we all carry Diane’s spark in our hearts and find reasons to laugh, to gather with loved ones, and raise our glasses to life’s simplest pleasures.

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