Diane True Ettleman, age 89, of Benton, passed away Thursday, March 28, 2024.  She was born August 9, 1934 in Eastport, Maine to the late Calvin T. Allen Jr. and Gladys May Allen.

In 1955, she began working in the OR at Queens and by 1956 she received a scholarship to Brigham Young University (BYU) where she lived on and off in Bellflower, California for a year.  From 1957-1968 she moved to San Diego, California and worked in medical surgery where she met her husband Jim and married in 1960.  Diane completed her BS in 1965 and the following year gave birth to their son John.  In 1968, they moved to Arkansas where Jim had lived; and stayed until 1970.

From 1970 -1974 they moved and lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa where Jim was originally from.  She worked in the local Community College until 1974 when they moved to Antioch (near Oakland) and took a supervisor job in a psychiatric facility.  In 1976, they returned to Arkansas and Diane received her Master's degree in Sociology with a specialty in gerontology from Henderson College in 1978.

After receiving her Master's, Diane took positions in nursing administration in Alabama, Texas, and Nevada through the years of 1978 – 1994.  In 1994 she decided to retire and come back to Arkansas only to begin working again in 1996.  She received a job offer from the State of Arkansas to work on the Utilization Review for Tax Equity Reformation; a federally-funded program for people with higher incomes to cover children with catastrophic illnesses.  In 2006, she became a surveyor for nursing homes across the State of Arkansas until retiring for good in 2012.  From 2014 – 2016, she taught CNA class in Haskell.

Throughout Diane's life, she loved to travel abroad and take in all the sights; especially visit museums, see plays, and shop at all the local places along the way.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, James (Jim) Howard Ettleman and three brothers, Calvin Allen Jr., Austin Allen, and John Allen.

Diane is survived by two children, John Ettleman (Kim) and Jan Formica; two grandchildren, Jonathan Baker (Heather) and Angela Barnette (Randy); five great-grandchildren, Celeste Lauber, Brycen Lauber, Easton Baker, Adriona Raymond, and Anthony Raymond; and a very special nephew, Teg Allen.

Visitation will be 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, April 4 at Ashby Funeral Home.