Diane Roberta (Zessin) Knull

Graveside Services for Diane R. (Zessin) Knull, age 78, of Corpus Christi, TX, will be 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, September 8th, at Crown Hill Cemetery in Madison.  Reverend Barry Williams will officiate.  Resseguie Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Diane, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and sister passed away on Thursday, August 26, 2021 surrounded by her family. We are forever grateful that God blessed us with her; she was the center of our lives.

The daughter of the late Arthur Oscar Zessin and Adeline Irene (Kalmer) Zessin was born December 13, 1942, in Norfolk, Nebraska.  Diane grew up on a farm with brothers, Darrel and Dean, and many cousins creating the perfect shenanigan environment.  She attended grade school at St. John’s Lutheran School, Green Garden, Trinity Lutheran School, high school at Madison High graduating in 1960, and the University of Nebraska with a BS graduating in 1965.

While at the University, she met the love of her life, Harvey, in the most romantic place on campus, the Biochemistry lab.  Harv and Di enjoyed many UN football games, Valentino’s pizza, and ice cream from the campus Creamery. 

Diane and Harvey were married in Madison, Nebraska on July 3, 1965. They moved to State College, Pennsylvania where Di taught Special Education and then became a programmer at the College of Education new Computer Assisted Instruction Lab creating modules for teaching grade school math.  From there they went to East Lansing, Michigan (3 years), Winnipeg, Manitoba (7 years), Grand Forks, ND (20 years), and in 2000, moved to and ultimately retired in Corpus Christi, TX.

Diane thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by and hosting family and friends. She is known for her contagious laugh, her shrewd card playing, and her delicious creations. One of her favorite things was having her family and friends together, enjoying food, laughter, and a bit of cards. Friends always would drop in with the hopes of getting a generous slice of double chocolate zucchini cake. It also wasn’t surprising to find Di allowing her grandchildren to eat some homemade cake for breakfast. With her big heart and love of people, she made friends wherever she went. After moving to Corpus Christi, she got involved at a flower shop on North Padre Island which was an incredible experience for meeting Island people and growing her love of “the Island”.

Diane was wonderful wife to Harvey and together they made life an adventure. Diane was preceded in death by her parents, Art and Adeline (Kalmer) Zessin, her brother Darryl Zessin, and daughter Traci Knull.   

Diane will be missed by those she has leaves behind, her husband of 56 years, Harvey; her daughters Tania West (Chris) and Tami Brandt. She was also the most loving grandmother to Cassidy Brandt, Ethan Brandt, Alexis West, and Aidan West.   Diane leaves behind a brother, Dean Zessin, sister-in-law, Louise Krueger (Jim), brothers-in-law Terry Knull (Trudi) and Terry Lund (Marie), sister-in-law Bev Philip (Jerry), her nieces and nephews Connie Esbenson (Eric), Vicki Blank (Al), Rod Zessin (Jenny), Jairus Lund, Josh Philip, and Kyler Philip.

We all hope to carry forward her ability to be the cheerleader supporting others in their career and personal interests and goals. We hope to embody her sincere friendships and caring heart. Last but not least, we will follow her lead in looking for things to celebrate, bringing positivity, smiles and happiness.

In lieu of flowers, you are welcome to make a donation to the Harvey and Diane Knull Scholarship Endowment at the University of North Dakota (https://undalumni.org/knull).    

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