SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Diane L. Quackenbush, age 70, died Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock after a brief battle with cancer.
She was born Diane Lee Burt, Nov. 25, 1950, at Springfield Hospital, to Harrison and Helen Burt. She attended schools in North Springfield and Springfield, graduating SHS Class of 1968. She attended Bay State College in Boston and worked various jobs in Boston and Washington, D.C.
Her love and caring of people lead her into the nursing field where she eventually became an RN. She was an EMT for an ambulance service in Chester for a while and then moved to Florida and was a hospital nurse in Avon Park for many years.
Her love of Vermont brought her back and she settled in New Hampshire. She worked briefly at Springfield Hospital and than at the VA in White River Junction, retiring in 2016.
She enjoyed cooking, traveling, flower and vegetable gardening, and being with her grandkids.
Survivors include two sons Todd McMillan and Cody Denofrio, and a daughter, Ashley Denofrio, all of Charlestown; two brothers Daryl Burt and his wife Sun of Chester, and Dana Burt of Las Vegas; eight grandkids and one great-grandchild; several cousins, many nieces and nephews; and two cats and her most beloved dog, Picasso.
She was predeceased by her parents and an infant nephew.
A staunch animal lover, she had many cats and dogs throughout her life, but her greatest love was that of horses. There were no services and spreading of ashes in a horse pasture has already occurred.
Memorial donations may be made in her name to the horse charity: EQUUS Foundation Inc., 168 Long Lots Rd, Westport, CT 06880, or online at www.equusfoundation.org/give. Click on “Tribute.”