Diana Lynn Hsu

Diana Lynn Hsu, at the age of 62, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, May 5, 2023, after a courageous battle with Huntington’s Disease (HD).
Diana was born in September 1960 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Carroll and Veola Hansen and was  the first of six children. Her parents were overjoyed at her birth as they had waited four years to have a baby. She had beautiful black hair, stunning blue eyes and ivory skin. She was a good natured baby and was loved by all who knew her. As a toddler she manifested a determined spirit. When Diana set her mind to do something she worked diligently to accomplish it. This attitude stayed with her through her childhood and into her adult life.
When she was young, she and her family lived in Kearns, Orem, and Spanish Fork, Utah. She learned how to play the saxophone in the sixth grade. She diligently learned and could play the popular song Georgy Girl on her saxophone. Diana loved to dance and listen to the popular music of the 1970’s. She especially loved the song “Puppy Love”, by Donny Osmond and was an avid fan of his through her teenage years and into her adulthood. She loved other rock groups as well and enjoyed the music of her generation. In 1973 her family moved to Arizona, and she got to experience warm winters and hot summers. The summer she spent in Arizona was filled with days of swimming and tanning in the Arizona sunshine. When her family returned to Utah, Diana was in junior high school and lived in Granger (now West Valley). They later  moved to Hunter where she began high school at Cyprus High. It was there she met Glenn Christison, and after dating they married in July of 1977. A few years later Diana and Glenn had their first child, Julie. They had two more daughters, Lisa and Stacy, and bought a home in Hunter, Utah. They later divorced and she moved to Murray where she went to school at Westminster College, It was here she began working as a secretary and met her second husband Ken. She married Ching Jing (Ken) Hsu in 1986. After struggling with fertility issues for two years, she finally gave birth to quadruplets: Jeremy, Leslie, Sherry, and Tiffanie. Jeremy lived only a short while, then passed away. When their three daughters were well enough to leave the hospital they returned home, and Diana began a new life of raising triplet daughters. They bought a home in Sandy, Utah. Diana was a teacher at Challenger School in Sandy,  a job which she found incredibly satisfying. She learned from her mother-in-law how to make the most delicious Taiwanese food and would make it for her husband and children. Many times, she also invited her mother and siblings to her home to enjoy her food, too. Diana loved to bake and over the years, she made  many beautiful wedding and birthday cakes for friends and family members.
She loved watching movies, she especially enjoyed comedies. She grew a garden and enjoyed working the soil with her hands, sharing her bounteous harvest with many. Having learned how to sew as a young woman, Diana enjoyed making clothes for those she loved.  Every Christmas, she and her children made home-made hard tack candy. It was a tradition they treasured. Her children were her greatest joy, and she was happiest when she was surrounded by them. She was always thinking of others and giving in ways she thought would bring them joy.
Later, they moved to Boise, Idaho where Diana helped her husband start a computer business. She enjoyed the opportunity to stretch her skills as she ran the day-to-day operations. It was while living here that Diana was in a car accident where she received a severe whiplash. This began her never ending battle with pain which she suffered from for many years. Diana also possessed persistence and a desire to achieve her goals in spite of the opposition she faced.
She loved her children dearly and always wanted the best for them – although sometimes she was not able to give them these things because she suffered with pain and the infirmities brought on by HD which impaired her ability to logically reason the best solutions to help them.
In 2005 Diana moved to Payson, Utah to live with and help her mother who suffered an aneurysm. It was there she was in another car accident which caused a brain injury. Since she was still struggling with pain, and she couldn’t receive the care she needed at home, she was placed in a care center in 2006. It was while living there that she was tested and diagnosed as having HD. She was later moved to a care center in Nephi Utah where she was able to spend time with her sister Tammy who also struggled with HD. A few years later she was moved up to Salt Lake City so she could be closer to her daughters who lived there. It was at this time that she divorced. In time the disease progressed, and Diana was no longer able to speak. But her face would light up when her children came to visit, and she showed her love in the expressions of joy on her face. Diana passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, May 5, 2023. She is survived by her six children, Julie Moser, Lisa (Jon) Riedel, Stacy Somerville, Leslie Hsu, Sherry Hsu, Tiffanie Hsu (Kent Mussell), and sister Teena (Randy) Searle. She is preceded in death by her son Jeremy Kenneth Hsu, her parents, and siblings Linda (John)Whitaker, Ray Hansen, Tammy (Gary Sr.) Banford, Russell Hansen.
The family is grateful to the workers and caregivers of Canyon Rim Care Center in Salt Lake City as well as those from Suncrest Hospice who so lovingly cared for Diana for many years. They treated her like family, and we are grateful for their gentle care and service. Diana had a quality of loving others and reaching out in service and compassion to meet the needs of those around her. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.
Funeral Services for Diana will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Viewing at 9 a.m. Funeral at 11 a.m. Memorial Estates Cemetery 6500 South Redwood Road Salt Lake City, UT. She will be laid to rest next to her cherished son Jeremy Hsu.
Service Information
Viewing May 20, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Memorial Redwood Mortuary





Funeral Service
May 20, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.
Memorial Redwood Mortuary