Diane Lee Austin

Diane was born in Dallas, Texas on September 7, 1952, to Robert Carlton Austin and Birdie Lorraine Austin; she was one of six children.

A native of Dallas, Diane graduated high school from Kimball High School in Oak Cliff in 1971. Diane was well-educated and achieved her Associate of Arts from Mountain View college in 1990, her Bachelor of Arts from Dallas Baptist University in 1993, and finally her Master’s in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University in 1997.

Diane married her high school sweetheart and had two beautiful children, Robert Donald Johnston in 1976 and Audra Kathleen Johnston (Abseck) in 1977. She would later remarry in 1984 and have three more daughters, Kirsten Dianne Dollarhide, Dallas Whitney Dollarhide (Miller), and Kathryn Lorraine “Rainey” Dollarhide (Prada).

Diane is preceded in death by her parents Robert Austin and Birdie Austin, sister Carol King, brother Charles “Chuck” Austin, and brother Robert Austin Jr. She is survived by her five children: Robert Johnston and his wife Dollie, Audra Abseck and her husband Carl, Kirsten Dollarhide, Dallas Miller and her husband James, and Rainey Prada and her husband Mateo. Diane loved her grandchildren: Ryan Johnston and his wife Candace, Julia Johnston, Evelyn Johnston, Gunnar Abseck, Carly Abseck, Kynli Miller, Callyn Miller, and Malachi Prada. Diane is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews as well as her brothers John Austin and Don Austin.

Diane carried her love of her family and friends throughout her life and enjoyed spending time with her kids and grandkids whenever possible. She was always willing to go eat Mexican food or eggplant parmesan at Olive Garden. She loved traveling when she could and visited 31 states, 11 countries, and 7 Caribbean islands in her lifetime. If you visited Diane, she was likely listening to a sermon as she was a devout believer and strong in her faith as a Christian; her greatest desire and interest was seeing her children build a relationship with Christ. Diane never met a stranger and would talk with endearing familiarity to just about anyone she encountered.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at 10:00 AM at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W Northwest HWY, Dallas, TX; the visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 PM the evening before.