Diane Carlson, age 82, of New Prague, formerly of Eden Prairie, died Thursday, January 17, 2013 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.  Diane was born October 19, 1930 in Duluth to Arthur and Edith (Lundquist) Hanson.  She was raised in Duluth until her early teens when she moved to Minneapolis. She graduated from Washburn High School and went on to Minnesota School of Business.  She married Gordon C. Carlson on February 11, 1950 at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, after which the couple moved to Eden Prairie, where they raised their family.  During those years, Diane worked as a librarian at the Eden Prairie Library (part of the Hennepin County Library System) and was very involved in Girl Scouting and Methodist Women’s Society.  The couple moved to New Prague in 1992.  The biggest part of Diane’s life was spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren – she had a very personal relationship with each one of them.

Diane is survived by her husband, Gordon; daughters, Pam (& Mike) Wise of Omaha, NE, Joy (& Rick) Daley of Apple Valley, Candy (& Dan) Dufek of Maple Grove; brother, Edward “Pete” (& Lynn) Hansen of Richfield; sister-in-law Betty Hanson of Anoka; 7 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren.  She is preceded in death by her parents, brother, Richard Hanson; sister, Geraldine Brooks.

The Memorial Service for Diane will be Monday, January 21, 2013 at 11:00 AM at Heritage United Methodist Church in New Prague with visitation also at church 1 hour prior to service.  Reverend Judy McEachran will officiate.  Lunch will occur at church immediately after the service.  Interment will take place at a later date.