Diane Larson Lazzarino died Jan. 5 while under hospice care at her home of recent years, Neuvant House of Lawrence.
A proud native of Laramie, Wyoming—where her forebears were among Laramie’s earliest pioneers—Diane met her future husband, Alexander Lazzarino, while both were students at the University of Wyoming. After stops in Columbia, S.C, and Casper, Wyo., they moved in 1967 to Lawrence, where they chose to raise their family and establish their careers.
Immediately upon completing her master’s degree at the William Allen White School of Journalism—where the Diane Lazzarino Award now honors outstanding students in strategic communications—Diane began her 37-year career as a member of KU’s journalism faculty. Her writing classes were known for projects benefiting community agencies. She advised the KU Ad Club for 20 years, administered the school’s famous typing test, and, as a career capstone, served as founding director of the Bremner Editing Center until her 2006 retirement.
Always a busy working mother and community volunteer, Diane for many years toted deliveries for Lawrence Meals on Wheels—which she helped launch here in 1970—in her green VW Bug and, later, a sporty silver Fiat. She was an early activist for mandatory car safety seats for children, and, with rare-at-the-time foresight for the millennium, for 12 years led classes of her KU writing students through an ongoing chronicle of the lives of Hillcrest Elementary students who one day would become the Class of 2000.
Diane guided writing groups for seniors, immersed herself in a book club active for decades and enjoyed listening to Big Band music with close friends at the American Legion. She dedicated time and resources to causes benefiting vulnerable pets and wildlife, and, delighting in surprising distant family with gift memberships, remained a loyal member of the KU Alumni Association, as well as a knowledgeable fan of all KU sports teams.
She consumed her daily newspapers with a journalism teacher’s critical eye, read and collected a range of books that reflected her boundless curiosity—including a particular fondness for foreign correspondent Mildred Aldrich’s World War I memoir, “A Hilltop on the Marne”—and lovingly tended her seasonal array of plants and flowers at the Alvamar home she and Alex designed and built themselves in 1972.
Alex preceded Diane in death in 2002. She is survived by her children, Evie and Chris, both of Lawrence; her brother and sister-in-law, Lee and Judy Larson, of Prairie Village; sister-in-law Ann Lazzarino Edwards, of Florida; and beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and dear family friends near and far.
Services will be announced at a later date. To the staff and residents of Neuvant House, the family extends our deepest thanks. The blessing of sincere friendship will not be forgotten.
In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the student award fund in her name, administered by the KU Endowment Association, PO Box 1260, Lawrence, KS 66044.
