Diane Renee O'Regan

Rock Valley, IA: Diane Renee O’Regan, 59, of Rock Valley, Iowa, died Friday, December 22, 2023, at Hawarden Regional Healthcare in Hawarden, Iowa, from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, December 29, at 10:30 AM at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Rock Valley with Father Bruce Lawler presiding. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery of Rock Valley. Visitation with the family present will be held Thursday, December 28, from 5:30-7:00 PM at Porter Funeral Home of Rock Valley with a prayer service to follow at 7:00 PM.

   Diane Renee (McLaughlin) O’Regan was born on October 8, 1964, at Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the daughter of Ronald McLaughlin and Judith (Ranschau) McLaughlin. She graduated high school in the Class of 1983 at Northern University (aka Malcolm Price Laboratory School) in Cedar Falls. After graduating, she enrolled in the Army Reserve as a radio operator of the 404th signal company.

   In 1989, she attained her degree in Respiratory Therapy from Hawkeye Community College. She graduated at the top of her class as valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. Shortly after, she began working as a respiratory therapist at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.

   In her childhood, Diane was a hard worker and an outstanding help to her parents in construction projects, homemaking, and other duties around their farm. Her helpful nature and attention to detail are both things she carried on into her own home.

   Diane was an incredible artist all her life. Her interests included jewelry making, cross-stitching, sewing, and scrapbooking. She enjoyed gifting and selling her crafts and received accolades for her work. Her favorite hobby of all was loving and attending to her well-behaved kittens.

   Diane was an outstanding citizen of Rock Valley, Iowa for many years, working for the Rock Valley Community School District as the organizer of the Music Parents Committee, running the concession stand for sporting events, and years later with elementary students as a student aide before her passing.

   Diane was a dedicated, loving, and wonderful mother, and she shared that love with everyone that knew her. She had five children: Reilley O’Regan, Shane O’Regan, Elise O’Regan, Cael O’Regan (Children of Dean O’Regan), and Nathaniel Brenneman (Son of Daniel Brenneman). Diane is survived by her parents, Ronald and Judith McLaughlin of Cedar Falls; brother, Vaughan McLaughlin of Winsted, Minnesota; and five children, Reilley O’Regan (Mandee Hyland) of Sioux City, Iowa, Shane O’Regan (Jesse Sears) of Des Moines, Elise O’Regan of Des Moines, Cael O’Regan of Ames, Iowa, and Nathaniel Brenneman of Rock Valley.

   Diane was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Theodore and Irene Ranschau of Rock Valley; and her paternal grandparents, Russell and Arletta McLaughlin of Tampa, Florida.