Dianne Elaine Bennett passed away Thursday, January 27th, 2022 in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.

She was born in San Rafael, California, on May 26, 1948 to Donald and Elaine Richter, the first of five children.

She spent much of her childhood in the Detroit suburbs of Inkster and Farmington, where she became a lifelong fan of Motown music. She moved with her family to Middlesex, New Jersey in 1965, and a year later enrolled at Trenton State College. There she graduated with a BA in Education. After years as an elementary school teacher, she earned her Masters in School Counseling at State College of Arkansas in 1973.

She was a loving mother to her two children Mitch Bennett and Jenny Barker, who she raised in a loving home in Plano, Texas with her husband Bruce Bennett. As a mother she was inspiring, supportive, and respectful - a great listener who gave wise advice, and the freedom to decide what to do next.

Dianne dedicated her life to helping others. As an elementary school counselor in the Plano Independent School District, she helped countless students feel their safest. She loved animals of all kinds and always had a pet miniature schnauzer or two or three. She had a beautiful singing voice, and her home and car were always full of music. She was a voracious reader known for finishing one book, closing it, and instantly beginning another. She loved the theater and saw every show she could. Her friends knew her as sarcastic and funny, with an infectious laugh.

Nothing could make Dianne smile like her four grandchildren, Greta, Leo, Lyla, and Ella. After separating from her husband in 2008, she enjoyed living near them in Austin, Texas, and later in Peachtree Corners.

Aside from her children and grandchildren, she is survived by her brothers Ken, Glenn, and Tom Richter, sister Karyn Babus, daughter-in-law Jill Bennett and son-in-law Matt Barker.

Services will be held at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin on Saturday April 23, 2022 at 11 AM, followed by a reception at Salt Lick Cellars in Driftwood.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Austin Pets Alive can be made in Dianne’s name. 

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