(1941-2021)
Jean Diane Folzenlogen Stanley entered into her eternal rest on May 25, 2021. While we are deeply saddened by her passing, we are comforted by the knowledge that she is no longer suffering and is at peace with the Lord. Diane will be remembered for her devotion to her faith and family and her perseverance in the face of health issues that plagued her for most of her adult life.
Born in Dallas, Texas on November 24, 1941 to Michael Clemmens Folzenlogen and his wife Christine Hibbard Folzenlogen, Diane was their 7th and final child. She was baptized at Holy Trinity Catholic Church where she later attended grade school. Little did she know that she would marry one of her classmates 28 years later and celebrate 44 wedding anniversaries with him.
Diane attended high school at Ursuline Academy of Dallas, graduating in 1959. She enjoyed her years at Ursuline where she participated in many clubs and attended school dances. Her dance cards were full and her love of singing was evident by the number of songs she performed at the Junior/Senior Prom.
After highschool, Diane attended Southern Methodist University. She graduated from SMU in 1963 and passed her CPA exam shortly thereafter. She worked as supervisor in a small Dallas accounting firm before she was hired to set up the accounting department at Ross Perot’s rapidly expanding company, Electronic Data Systems (EDS). By 1968, only five years out of college, she was named corporate treasurer at EDS. The next year she was elected to the company’s board of directors. During her short, meteoric career, she was named the American Society of Women Accountants’ “Outstanding Woman Accountant” in 1972-1973 and one of the top 100 business women in the U.S. by “Business Week” in 1976. But her career took a back seat to her family when she married her former grade school classmate, Edward John Stanley IV at Holy Trinity Catholic Church on November 26, 1976 and they started a family together.
Diane and Ed were blessed with 3 children – Christine Marie (b. 1977), Edward John V (b. 1979) and JeanMarie (b. 1981). They lived in Rockwall, Texas on several acres of land with a small pond. Diane loved animals and had horses, cows, cats and dogs on the property before she was married. As her children grew, she also took care of rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, lizards, fish, turtles and anything else the kids brought home or found at the pet store. She devoted her time to raising her family and spent countless hours as room mom, school carnival chair, Boy Scout den mother, Sunday school teacher, chauffeur and cheerleader at innumerable grade school sporting events. Her volunteer duties however, had to be put on hold when she experienced a fall in 1988 that started a series of medical events that drastically changed the course of the rest of her life.
Diane’s health issues first started in college. She limped through her graduation ceremony and visited numerous doctors to determine what was causing the pain she experienced almost constantly in her leg. The pain became so intense, she would pray for death at one point. But her faith drew her to say a novena to St. Jude, the patron saint of the impossible. Through a chance conversation with a neighbor a week later, Diane found a specialist that diagnosed her with Ewing’s Tumor, a rare disease that causes blood cells to destroy bone tissues. He also informed her, at the age of 23, that she had less than a year to live. However, when they did a bone biopsy, they discovered that her bone marrow had partially healed. And after a year of various treatments including radiation to her leg, the doctors declared her cured. Diane always attributed her miraculous recovery to the intercession of St. Jude and God’s plan for her life.
Diane had always wanted to be a mother and have a family, but the doctors warned her that they would need to wait 10 years before she could be certain the disease would not return. She worried about leaving a husband and children if she did get sick again, so true to her habit of putting the wealth fare of others before her own, she put her dreams for a family on hold and threw herself into her career with enthusiasm. When 10 years had passed without a relapse, she happened to become reacquainted with Ed, who she had dated in high school. She then set her sights on obtaining her dream of being a wife and mother. Due to the amount and location of the radiation treatment she received, the doctors were unsure she would ever be able to have children. She defied their expectations once again when she had three healthy babies before the age of 40. Defying doctors’ expectations would become a recurring theme in her life.
In December of 1988, Diane fell while chasing one of the family dogs at their lake house in East Texas. Her femur had been weakened by the radiation she had received twenty years earlier and the bone broke with the fall. The radiation had destroyed the bone and it was unable to heal. She subsequently contracted an infection in the bone and it ultimately had to be removed and replaced. She underwent multiple surgeries over the course of several years. For years, Diane struggled with walking without the assistance of crutches, a walker or a wheelchair. Throughout all her health issues, her faith in God’s plan for her and her family sustained her. He had granted her a miracle in her 20’s and had blessed her with children in her 30’s, so He would carry her through her physical struggles as she raised her three children to adulthood. In 2001, she walked without a walker on the arm of her son John down the aisle at Christy’s wedding.
In the span of a few years, Diane had eight grandchildren to dote upon. She loved it when they came to visit her and she always had a snack or treat to hand out. Diane loved celebrating holidays and would give the grandkids gifts for any occasion - Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter and she always remembered to celebrate the day of their baptism. Thanksgiving was not complete without her mother’s pumpkin pie recipe and matching outfits for the grandkids for the annual family picture. And Christmas was the biggest celebration of all. She loved watching everyone open their gifts, one at a time so she did not miss anything. It would take hours and the grandkids will always remember it.
Despite having beat cancer in her 20’s, it came to plague her again, this time in her lungs. In early 2019, Diane was diagnosed with lung cancer. Due to her previous smoking history, her lung function was greatly decreased and she was not a surgical candidate for removing the cancer. She opted to receive radiation treatment to slow the growth of the tumor and was given a year to live. Once again she defied the doctor’s expectations. A year after her diagnosis, she moved in with JeanMarie and her husband Josh who would care for her for another year while Diane spent time with her newest grandson. During that time, she received yet another diagnosis. This time it was peritoneal cancer and she was given six months to live. Yet again, she defied the doctors’ expectations and a year later she moved into an assisted living facility near Christy and her family.
Shortly after her move to assisted living, it became clear that the cancers were catching up to her. She did not wish to pursue treatments like chemotherapy that would prolong her life but decrease the quality of the time she had left. She spent her last few weeks surrounded by her family, enjoying her grandkids and being visited by friends. She attended Masses at Cistercian and Christ the King until the end and received the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick several times before she entered her eternal rest. We are comforted in our belief that she has gone to her eternal reward and knowledge that her earthly suffering has ended.
Even though she achieved a great many things during her professional career and received national praise and many accolades for her work, Diane would say her greatest accomplishment was her three children. In fact, she never talked about her time at EDS with her kids. They only found out she had worked outside the home when Ross Perot ran for president and reporters started calling the house to interview Diane. She and Ed sacrificed personally and professionally to provide their children with a Catholic education and set them up for success both academically and professionally. They expected that their children always give their best effort because that is what they did as well. The most valuable lesson Diane taught her children was the importance of faith and family. It is a lesson they have learned through her outstanding example.
Diane is survived by her husband, Edward John Stanley IV, their children Christine Marie Stanley Marlowe, Edward John Stanley V and JeanMarie Stanley Johnson (who is expecting her second child), their spouses Brannon David Marlowe, Tiffany Doss Stanley, Joshua Johnson and her grandchildren Madeleine Marie Marlowe, James Edward Marlowe, Charlotte Jean Marlowe, Emily Marie Stanley, Bethany Rei Stanley, Taylor Nichole Stanley, Julia Grace Stanley and Augustine Michael Johnson, her brothers John Nash Folzenlogen and Paul Dennis Folzenlogen, and many sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister Patricia Folzenlogen Murphy and her brothers Gordon J.H. Folzenlogen, Michael David Folzenlogen, and Daniel Francis Folzenlogen.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 12th at Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey located at 3550 Cistercian Rd in Irving, Texas. The rosary will start at 9:30am and the Mass will be held at 10am. A reception will follow at the University of Dallas in SB Hall located at 2925 Gorman Drive in Irving, Texas 75062. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Catholic Pro-Life Committee of Dallas (prolifedallas.org) in Diane’s memory.
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