Everyone knew when Diane Nason was around. Her distinctive, infectious laugh would echo down the hallways of Huckleberry Hill Elementary School, or rise above the crowded hum of voices at parties, or through her family home in New Fairfield. That’s what the people who loved Diane will miss the most about her: that laugh.
The beloved 49-year-old Brookfield teacher died on January 15th after battling cancer, leaving behind her husband of 25 years, Fred, their two boys, Daniel, 14, and Jonathan, 9, and their dog Thor.
Diane grew up in Montvale, New Jersey, and when it was time for college, headed off to Hofstra University where she studied Elementary Education and English. It was there that a friend introduced Diane to Fred Nason, a senior on the basketball team, who was fresh off an impressive season. But instead of reacting in awe to the senior boy’s athletic prowess, Diane simply asked, “Oh, we have a basketball team here?” Fred still thinks it’s funny.
At Huckleberry Hill, Diane was known to be a leader, spearheading everything from spirit day costumes to different school committees to the creation of the Huckleberry curriculum. Arriving at the elementary school in 2001, Diane would spend nearly two decades helping Brookfield’s third and fourth graders grow, learn, and succeed. She welcomed the toughest kids into her classroom, Fred said. And the teachers at Huckleberry quickly became her close friends. “She’s been there forever,” Fred said. “She’s part of Huckleberry.”
“She really was pure light,” said Mollie Prizio, a friend and fellow teacher at Huckleberry. This was a description that came up again and again from those who knew and loved Diane. Prizio met Diane in 2011 when she took over as long-term substitute during Diane’s second maternity leave. She was immediately struck by the warmth Diane exuded. “She would do everything with her whole heart.”
Diane never wanted to leave a gathering. Fred joked that when she slid her coat on, that was when he knew they were about 30 minutes away from leaving. He can count on one hand the number of times they weren’t the last person to leave. “I helped clean up so many weddings,” Fred said, laughing.
Diane also had an uncanny ability to find the person standing in the back of the room, the person hanging back, and engage them. No matter where she was, strangers would approach Diane to ask for help, guidance, directions. There was something about her that drew people in. Fred said that was part of the reason why she was such a good teacher.“You know, people say like, ‘well, they’re the life of the party.’ She wasn’t. She was the light,” Fred said. “You just wanted to be around her.”
Trisha Ambrogio met Diane at a new teacher orientation in 2004. Ambrogio was sitting alone at a cafeteria table when Diane walked over, introduced herself, and promptly asked Ambrogio if she wanted to spend the day together. Both had recently been hired as third grade teachers at Huckleberry, and their friendship quickly blossomed into beach trips with babies in tow, shopping excursions, glasses of wine, and years of love and support. “When you met her, you loved her,” Ambrogio, now a teacher in Danbury, said.
Ambrogio will always remember how Diane dropped everything— including packing and preparing for a family vacation— when she called to tell her friend she’d gone into labor seven weeks early.
“She drew everyone in and made everyone feel valued and important,” said Prizio. Another Huckleberry colleague, Lee Morgan, will remember Diane for her incredible ability to stay present, to embrace new ideas, and to bring fun into every lesson plan. Diane often added special touches to their presentation slides, little pieces of clip art or design that made the lesson more engaging.
Even while battling her cancer, she stayed positive. Diane was the one cheering on her fourth grade team as they headed into a challenging new school year this fall, telling them ‘We got this!’ Huckleberry Principal Melissa Labrosciano said. “Diane Nason was a true gift to the world of education.”
While the pandemic makes concrete plans difficult, Labrosciano hopes the Huckleberry community can find a way to honor Diane around campus soon. “I can’t even put into words truly what an incredible human being she was,” she said.
But family was always number one for Diane.
Whether it was planning vacations, taking her boys on outdoor adventures, or baking cookies for special occasions and holidays— sometimes frosted shortbread, other times cookies in the shape of Christmas trees or Easter eggs— Diane spent the time she wasn’t teaching dedicated to her family.
“She was such a good mom, and she was such a good Boy Mom. She let them be boys, she let them be adventurous and just be who they are,” said Ambrogio.
And despite being known to turn off a tight sports game on TV without a second thought, she was always there for her boys when they started playing sports. “The moment that her boys were playing ball,” Fred said, “she couldn’t miss a game.”
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January 24, 2021 at 06:00PM
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