Diane Hoffman O'Brien was live on CNN. Honest

By Stan Rolfsrud, Trailboss
Rewind to 1997. A car accident in France has killed Princess Diana. Thousands throng to London to mourn her passing. Kathleen and I settle for CNN’s wall-to-wall coverage.
I had no appreciation whatsoever for the Royals before I married. But when my wife set the alarm for 3 a.m. and awakened our three girls for the Wedding of the Prince to the Princess, I knew it was useless to resist. So there we were in 1997, me in my slippers and Kathleen holding the dog, watching the mourners toss flowers on the iron gates at Kensington.
"That’s her!" I yelled, nearly dumping my oatmeal.
"Who’s her," a startled, almost annoyed, Kathleen responded.
"That’s her," I insisted, "she just threw some flowers! You know her, she lives here in Eden Prairie, I am sure that is her."
"If she lives here in Eden Prairie, what’s she doing in London?" my wife asked.
"I don’t know. I know it's her. It's got to be her. She sat behind me in Mr. Perdue’s class. She gave her speech on how to pierce an ear lobe. It’s her, I am sure it is. I think she’s a painter now or something."
"What is she doing in London if she lives in Eden Prairie?" she repeated.
"I don’t know, she gets around a lot. Her husband has this big construction company that does things all over the world. They’re probably in Europe putting the roof on some cathedral or something. She used to be a flight attendant for Northwest. Her chums LaVonne Feda and Lynda Malmgren too. That’s her, alright."
"Who’s her!" an exasperated Kathleen asked.
"Diane Hoffman O’Brien!"
It was her. An email to the Trailboss today finally confirmed that Diane Hoffman was, indeed, at the funeral of Princess Diana. It provided a moment of marital satisfaction for the Trailboss. He always likes being correct in front of his wife.
Diane has two girls and four stepchildren. She finally became a grandmother two years ago. There are three of them now, two girls and a boy.
As a young mother, Diane used to golf and play cards with Lynn Deitz, Kathy Sherry and Margaret Linser. That was 30 years ago. The 1990 Class reunion started a monthly lunch routine for a while with Lynda Malmgren, LaVonne Feda and Kathy Carlson. Diane visits with Bonita Gilbertson most Fridays.
For the past 20 years she’s been a painter. (If The Corral in Nelson has an art gallery, the committee must request a ReOnion ReVue.) Diane also enjoys cooking, gardening, and the grandchildren. Then there are the two dogs and three horses.

Faithful Roundup Readers: there are even more Alexandria bridges to California, so to speak. You've heard of the Golden Gate? Yup, Diane’s hubby’s company is doing a retrofit on it as we speak.
The couple lives in Alex for a part of the year on Little Darling. Diane used to travel a lot with her husband, but grandchildren have slowed that considerably. She still keeps in touch with a young Frenchman she once met in London. Her husband did the roof on the Millennium building in Greenwich.
Her husband, OB, is reputedly quite the character. He golfs frequently with 1964 Alexandria graduate Paul Donley and even the Cub Roundup Reporter, Tom Obert.

Incidentally, Kathleen was delighted that her husband was right all along, but she was especially happy to learn that her neighbor, Diane, likes Texas Hold ‘Em. The Trailboss's wife is always looking for new blood. She’s got the chips and chairs. Just bring money, Diane.