Paoli, Oklahoma - Diane Futrell Dulin, 79, died at 11:25 a.m. on March 10, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. A life-long resident of the Paoli/Pauls Valley area, she moved to Scottsdale in July 2022 to be near her daughter and son-in-law.

Diane Futrell Dulin, the youngest of three daughters, was born April 13, 1943 in Pauls Valley, Okla., to Woodrow Wilson (W.W.) Futrell and Jean (Whitaker) Futrell of Paoli, Okla. Her parents and sisters, Donna Jordan and Lynda Steers, predeceased her.

Diane is survived by her two children, Christi (married to Douglas Napier) and James (married to Jamie, nee Cantwell); and five grandchildren: Andrew Napier and Isabelle Bailey, Katherine, Lee, and Robert Dulin; and one great-granddaughter, Ava Bailey.

Diane grew up in the Paoli area and first attended Klondike School, where her mother was a teacher and her father a teacher/principal. She began attending Paoli Schools at age 5, where she started first grade. She was smart, motivated, and determined. She was an excellent student and graduated as Salutatorian of her class in 1960.

She fell in love with Lee Dulin in 6th grade and they married in 1963. Although she was widowed at age 47, she loved him all her life.

Diane attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated with a dual degree in education and social work. She later completed her master's degree in special education at East Central University. She served as a special education teacher until 1983 at the Pauls Valley State School.

Diane was a loyal and loving wife and mother. She loved her teaching career, and then loved being home with her son James and selling Avon for years.

When she lost Lee in October 1990, she amazed all by her strength and determination to care for her young son and bring stability and security to herself and her family through wise stewardship, business management, and financial planning.

When her parents developed Alzheimer's disease, she championed them to stay in their home - where she and full-time caregivers cared for them devotedly.

Diane, being very close to her Great-Grandmother Layton, always had a love for older people. She spent many years visiting widows - bringing them food, playing card games, truly caring for them, and enjoying their company. They were some of her dearest friends.

She loved her church - the Church of Christ in Pauls Valley - where she faithfully attended and served for decades.

Diane moved to Pauls Valley in May 2004, after selling the family ranch where she and Lee lived for most of their married life together. It was a difficult move - but she did it with the energy and determination with which she tackled every other challenge.

Her community - in Paoli, in Pauls Valley, and at her church - were her extended family, and she deeply valued and enjoyed those relationships.

Visitation will be held on Friday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Stufflebean-Coffey Funeral home in Pauls Valley.

The funeral service will be held at the Church of Christ in Pauls Valley on Saturday, March 18 at 10 a.m., followed by a graveside service at the Paoli Cemetery and a luncheon for the family at the church by the women of the Pauls Valley Church of Christ.

We invite you to send a message of condolence in the family's guestbook and/or light a candle in her memory at www.stufflebeanfuneralhome.com