Leverett, MA–Diane Appel passed away on August 20, 2024.  She was born in Northampton, MA to Roger Boucher, Sr. and Margaret (Ryan) Boucher.  She graduated from Amherst Regional High School where “Boo- Boo” excelled in basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and softball.  Although soft-spoken and modest, she was very competitive in the athletic arenas including scoring a hat-trick plus one in a field hockey game. She graduated from University of Massachusetts with a degree in Physical Education, and taught first aid and CPR at Amherst High School.  Utilizing her first responder training and the Heimlich Maneuver, she saved a person who was choking. 

She was employed in Amherst when she met her husband Ed playing volleyball.  Diane said she saw him playing at another court and wanted him to play on her court.  When there was an opening, she asked him to play on her team.  You could say he fell for her when she set the ball, he went up to spike, then landed on her foot spraining his ankle.  They were married in 1987 at Second Baptist Church in South Hadley, MA and honeymooned in California visiting several national parks in the rain.  To get out of the downpours, they decided to visit Death Valley; it rained for those 3 days. 

Diane was employed by Grey Towers National Historic Site, Milford, PA where she was the Conservation Education Coordinator and at Penn State Cooperative Extension Service before they moved to her beloved town of Leverett, MA where she grew up on a campground, built and managed by her parents.  She always said her best job was as a summer seasonal ranger at Cape Cod National Seashore.  She was a talented diligent hard worker with her hands and mind.  She enriched and inspired so many lives through her guided talks at Grey Towers and Cape Cod, conducting conservation education workshops, or overseeing the 4-H clubs.  Her greatest achievement at the extension service was organizing a Seeing Eye Dog Club.  She successfully raised 3 dogs for The Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ. 

Diane loved to hike with the dogs in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area where Ed was employed.  Their favorite hikes were to Hemlock Pond, Lower Indian Ladders, Raymondskill Cliffs and daily hikes on the Appalachian Trail.  She also enjoyed canoeing on the Finger Lakes, Delaware River, Jupiter Creek in Ocala National Forest, and Myakka River State Park amongst the alligators in Sarasota, Florida.

Diane planned every vacation trip.  They walked the beaches on Cape Hatteras National Seashore and in Sarasota, Florida, camped and hiked in Shenandoah, Rocky Mountain, Acadia, Everglades, and Great Sand Dunes National Parks, bicycled in civil war historic sites and Nantucket Island, and visited the Newport mansions.  She particularly enjoyed whale watching at Cape Cod.  She organized several trips for the Seeing Eye Dog Club including to the Statue of Liberty.  Frequently they traveled to NYC to attend Broadway shows with family and friends.  She was passionate about following the Red Sox and Patriots, and the Celtics and Bruins when they were in the playoffs.  Dog therapy with the Bright Spot Therapy Group was one of Diane’s greatest gifts; going to The Arbors, UMASS, Springfield College, and Western New England University much to the delight of the students.

Diane was preceded in death by Ed’s parents and her parents.  She is survived by her husband, Ed of 36 years, sister and spouse Ellen Hendricks (Brad), brothers and their spouses Roger (Mary), John (Cheri), Paul, and brothers-in-law and spouses Richard (Celia), Lawrence (Jean Marie), William (Maria), cousins, nephews and nieces on both sides of the families.  She is also survived by their Cocker Spaniel, Dusti who she named after Dustin Pedroia, who played 2^nd baseman for the Red Sox as Diane did for Amherst High School.

In lieu of flowers, please contribute to your local humane society, or The Seeing Eye Dogs, Morristown, NJ and go for a hike on your favorite trail.  She will meet her 4-legged family members Bilbo Baggins, Ebony, Sally Ann, Pepper, Bailey, Casey, Se-Se, Cinder, Riley, Sonia, Eldora, Ebby, and Aggie at the end of the Rainbow Bridge.

Diane’s memorial service will be at the Second Baptist Church, 589 Granby Rd., South Hadley, MA 01075 on

October 5^th at 11:00.  All are welcome.

Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com