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Diane Marilyn O’Malley (Doege)
November 21, 1936 – October 3, 2026
Our O’Malley family lost the heart and soul of our family on October 3rd, when our beloved Diane O’Malley passed into eternal life at home, surrounded by her family and praying the rosary. She was the kindest and sweetest woman you could ever meet. Her mantra was, “You will never regret being kind,” and she lived those words every day of her life.
Diane was the most loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend. She was a true matriarch who leaves behind a beautiful legacy of family and faith.
She was preceded in death by her loving parents, John and Ermilda Doege, and her sister, Carol Pederson.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Patrick, and the children she loved dearly: Sherry O’Malley (Scott), Greg O’Malley (Jennifer), Mike O’Malley (Kristi), Tom O’Malley (Lanna), Corrie Loe (Jay), Marty O’Malley, Pat O’Malley (Kristin), Terri Pabst, Jeff O’Malley, Jon O’Malley (Maria), and Joy Richards (Dave). She is also survived by her sister, Judy Cavanaugh (Tom), and many nieces and nephews.
Diane was blessed with 51 grandchildren: Luke, Jessie, Alex, Ryan, Katie, Christine, Tyler, Savannah, Kyle, Jill, Colin, Kelsey, Jordan, Marta, Joshua, Jenny, Jake, Getahun, Johnny, Matthew, Anne, Eric, Jimmy, Nicole, Abby, Alex, Caroline, Yonas, Molly, Thomas, Sophia, Jordan, Isabelle, Daniel, Justin, Mari, Peter, Joseph, Ben, Connor, Isaac, Mark, Maria, Cecilia, James, Andrew, John Paul, Jacob, Lucia, Mollie, and Nathaniel. She was also blessed with 26 great-grandchildren.
Diane was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. She attended St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she earned her BSN and met the love of her life. She began her nursing career at St. Joseph Hospital in St. Paul and loved working as a pediatric nurse.
Pat and Diane were married on August 29, 1959, and enjoyed 67 years of married life together. Being the wife of an Air Force pilot meant living in many different places across the United States. During those 67 years, they were blessed with 11 children. It was through motherhood that Diane found her true calling in life: being a mother and leading her family in faith.
In 1974, they settled in River Falls, Wisconsin, to be closer to family. Together, they built the home where they lived for 47 years and raised their rambunctious family.
Diane loved sharing her Catholic faith and was everyone’s biggest prayer warrior. She made her house a home where everyone was welcome to gather and where her faith was abundantly visible, especially during the Christmas season. When Advent arrived, her home was transformed into a Christmas village, where the true meaning of Christmas was celebrated and many sacred family traditions were passed down through the generations.
In addition to her faith, Diane loved traveling, cooking, knitting, growing flowers, having coffee on the deck, and spoiling her puppies and kitties.
One of her greatest treasures in life was her grandchildren. She loved baking cookies for them and enjoyed the challenge of keeping her candy box fully stocked. Her home was always filled with the love and laughter of her family. Sundays were her favorite, when the entire family would gather at her home for brunch after Mass.
Her family loved her beyond measure, and the joy she brought to their lives will be deeply missed. Her absence will be felt by all who loved her dearly. We are grateful that she is no longer suffering, and we continue to pray for her eternal rest.
Diane and Pat were deeply involved in pro-life causes, as evidenced by their ever-growing family. They truly believed in the sanctity of life. They were very much a part of Options for Women, a pro-life organization in River Falls, and served on its board for many years. If you would like to make a memorial donation in Diane’s honor, please send it to:
Options for Women
214 N. Main St.
River Falls, WI 54022
https://optionsforwomenrf.com
The wake was held at Bakken-Young Funeral Home (River Falls) on Wednesday, October 7th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., with a rosary beginning at 7:30 p.m. Visitation was held on Thursday, October 8th, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Big River Catholic Church, followed by the Funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. Burial followed at 11:15 a.m. at St. Mary’s Big River Cemetery. A luncheon and continued time of visitation was held at Ridgetop following the burial.
In honor of Diane’s love of color, many family members will wear colorful funeral attire. Please feel free to wear traditional funeral attire or add a bit of color in honor of Diane, if you wish.
Arrangements are with Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.
Click here to watch the recording of Diane’s service.
5 Comments
Her mantra, “You will never regret being kind,” truly was Diane! Her kindness has stuck with me for many years. I have no doubt her family and community will miss her big heart and beautiful smile greatly.
My heartfelt prayers to the O’Malley Families on your loss of this wonderful lady Diane, who was Wife, Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Friend to everyone she knew but treated everyone like family, I knew 2 of her children-Scott O’Malley and his brother Jeff O’Malley as he worked at McDonalds in Hudson, Wisconsin when I lived there in 1995. Such a beautiful family that cared so much about other people, O’Malley Families you were truly blessed by the Presence of Diane in your lives. May you all cherish the many memories and hold Diane in your hearts and thoughts and prayers always. Rest In Heaven and God’s Peace ☮️ Diane, you will be forever remembered and never forgotten. With Heartfelt Prayers and God’s Peace, Mark VonBank-Park Rapids, Minnesota.
Another role that Diane filled beautifully was parent of her children at school. We could always depend on her support in both tricky times and good. And that twinkle in her eye when she was about to share a joke or something funny, was priceless. Even though I haven’t had her children in 5th or 7th grade go about 40 years, she always insisted on calling me Mrs. Mottaz, not Carole. I can honestly say I enjoyed every interaction with Diane, in school, at the It takes a Village concert or out in the community. What a guardian angel we now have.
We met at Brownies together when we were 7 years old. She lived two doors down from me in Sauk Center. She told her mom she met a girl named ‘Hail Mary’ at the first Brownie meeting! We were inseparable from the first day onward and our birthdays were only one day apart. She was truly the kindest person I ever knew. I treasured her friendship for almost 83 years. And I will look forward to our next visit in Heaven. I send my love to Patrick and her beautiful family. I will have a mass said for her and I know she has earned her place in Jesus’s arms eternally, resting in peace.
We met the O’Malleys in Marengo, Ill in the late 60’s and became very good friends until they moved to River Falls in the 70’s. Pat and Diane were long time friends, Pat a big brother to my husband “Rudy” whom i lost in 1989, and Diane whom i considered a big sister. I always kept in touch at Christmas time to share family history. Diane will be greatly missed but I will keep in touch with Pat and family. Diane is now with our Lord and someday will see her again. Prayers for comfort and peace for the O’Malley family.
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