Diana Hensley

Diana (Diane) Elizabeth Austin Hensley was born August 20, 1959 in New York and lovingly adopted 3 days later by her father Jim Austin. Jim married Phyllis a few years later and together they raised Diana and her brothers and sister. After a long, drawn out battle with cancer over the past 12 years, she finally succumbed and went to be with Our Lord on June 29, 2016 at 11 p.m. Her husband of 33 years, Kirk Anthony Hensley, was with her at the time of her passing.

Her father Jim was an engineer for Exxon and travelled extensively with his family, giving Diana a chance to experience living in varied cultures such as Argentina, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, London, Florida, and Houston. Jim and Phyllis raised Diana along with her brothers: Mike (Lori) Austin; Greg (Shannon) Williams and Joey (Jackie) Williams and her sister, Kay (Bill) Butterworth.

Diana ultimately ended up in Nacogdoches to attend school at Stephen F. Austin State University, obtaining her BBA. She married Kirk on February 27, 1983 and spent most of their non-working hours together. They were inseparable!

Diana went back to school to earn her MBA from SFA. No stranger to studying, she then applied herself to learn about the world of financial planning and asset management. She received her credentials in 2000 and began work in the finance industry. She ultimately spent the last 17 years working with Shannon Smith at Smith and Partners Financial Services, with whom she was a business partner. She enjoyed working with the rest of her “family” at Smith and Partners, where she made a huge impact on coworkers and clients, alike.

However, anyone who knows Diana, knows that her passion lay in two directions: her love of animals and fast cars! Diana took pleasure in owning and driving various sports cars, she was especially fond of driving her 1970 Dodge Dart, immaculately kept by Kirk. They enjoyed attending Friday Night Cruise Night where they shared their enthusiasm for classic cars with others. She not only knew how to drive fast cars she knew what made them run as well. She was just as confident talking about cars as she was about work.

Her other passion had her known in the world of animal rescues and not just locally. Diana was the founder of the O’Malley Alley Cat Organization. Because of her efforts, the cat population has been reduced and people are more aware of the need and reasons to spay and neuter their pets. Diana housed many cats at the home she and Kirk shared, moving to a larger piece of property as Diana’s efforts expanded into foster and rescue operations. Her love of animals was apparent to all, her life dedicated to assisting when animals were involved.

It wasn’t often that Diana and Kirk could take a trip due to the amount of care and attention required to feed, water and clean the cages of all of the animals they housed, fostered and loved. But they did find a way to make it work and found immense pleasure getting away for a vacation of Island living in the Bahamas, their favorite place. They found kindred spirits there, discovering that the people who rented them their boat were also involved in animal rescue.

Once you met Diana, you generally found a friend in her. She was always interested in others and had a way of making sure that everyone was comfortable around her. She was well loved and will be missed by so many. In lieu of flowers, please donate online at omalleypet.org or to O’Malley Pet, P.O. Box 633452, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963.

A special thank you to Brandee and Kathy of Accolade Hospice and special friend Lucy Richardson for their wonderful care.

A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, July 10th at 2:00 p.m. at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Home in Nacogdoches, Texas with a reception following at 3:30 p.m. at Millard’s Crossing Historical Village in the Reception House. Island attire is encouraged as we celebrate the life of Diana.