Diane Lynn Collins

Diane Lynn Collins, 54, of Grand Island, died on October 19, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Grand Island surrounded by family and friends. Diane passed away from an 8 month battle with pancreatic cancer. Visitation will be on Wednesday, October 21st at Messiah Lutheran Church in Grand Island from 4-8 p.m. Funeral services will be on Thursday October 22nd at 1:00 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church in Grand Island with Rev. Bill Schroder officiating. Interment will be at the Central City Cemetery immediately following the funeral service. The family welcomes anyone who can't make the funeral to join them at the cemetery for the committal service. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.soltwagnerfuneral.com. Diane Lynn was born on April 25, 1961 to Donald E. and Nancy Joan (Sorensen) Hansen. Diane grew up in Central City, graduating from Central City High School in 1979. She then attended Kearney State College, where she graduated with her B.S. in 1983. Following her schooling, Diane received her first job with the State Probation Office in Grand Island. Diane would remain with them as a probation officer for 29 years where she had a positive influence over the people she guided in her work. She then took a job in 2012 in Broken Bow with the Central Plains Center for Services, where she remained until her health would no longer allow her to work. On March 23, 1996 Diane Hansen and Ellis Collins were united in marriage at Messiah Lutheran Church. They would later have two boys; Braden and Samson, who were the absolute loves of her life. She always embraced, and loved to be a wife, and mother to her two boys. She was extremely involved in all of their activities, and wouldn't have traded that for anything. In 2003 Diane won a Harley Davidson, and from that day on she was hooked on motorcycles. She loved to ride her motorcycle, she was a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, and annually made the trip to Sturgis, South Dakota for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. She was a huge Husker football fan, she loved to go to concerts and never missed an opportunity to do some shopping. Diane was a member of the Grace Lutheran Church in Central City, until moving to Grand Island where she then became an active member at the Messiah Lutheran Church. She was an accomplished pianist and organist who loved to play for church services, weddings, and funerals. She was also a committee member for the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial. Those left to cherish her memory are her husband, Ellis Collins of Grand Island; her two boys, Braden and Samson Collins of Grand Island; one step-daughter, Madilyn Collins of Sarasota, Florida; her twin sister, Deb (Scott) Hawthorne of Central City; her three nephews Matt (fiancé Bobbi Arends), Jon (Brooke) Hawthorne, and Joe (Hannah Hines) Hawthorne; great nephews, Jaxon and Jameson Hawthorne; mother and father-in-law, Lila and Richard Collins; sister-in-law, Sharon Larson and the late Glenn Larson; brother-in-law, Richard and Edie Collins; sister-in-law, the late Darlene (Jeffery) Hill. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joan and Don Hansen; nephew, Samuel Hawthorne; brother, Gary Hansen; and infant brother, Richard Hansen. Memorials are suggested to an education fund to be setup for Diane's two boys, or to the Messiah Lutheran Church - Music department.

Diane Lynn Collins

April 25, 1961 - October 19, 2015