Diane A. (Dugal) Bynum

Diane was born in Pawtucket to the late Dorothy (Wunschel) and Dona Dugal. She attended St Teresa’s school, then Tolman high school where she was a star student and athlete lettering in tennis, basketball and volleyball. (She would later coach volleyball at The Lincoln School, where they won the state championship two of the three years she was coach). She attended Quinipiac College for one year before transferring to Rhode Island College. She was in the first graduating class, and one of the few women, attaining a degree in Management Information Systems. 

Diane would meet her husband at RIC. They were married during her Junior year. She helped raise his two daughters from a previous marriage. Shortly after graduation they would buy their first home in Johnston, eventually remodeling and expanding it together. Diane’s first job after college was as a data analyst working for addiction research projects at Brown University. She would go on to do data analysis for other medical, educational and health insurance entities. She would be cited as an author as some of these studies were published in medical journals. While she enjoyed the challenges working with this data, she felt uncomfortable working for large corporations that used the information to increase profits rather than help those in need. 

Diane took a year off to go back to school. She still enjoyed working in the healthcare field so she took a course in Pharmaceutical Management. She hoped this would allow her to help with developing new drugs, but she found out that would not be the case without years of experience. Fortunately, she received an offer from a small non-profit that was working to directly help people. Since the non-profit was grant and charity funded, her pay was smaller but the work was more rewarding. For the rest of her career she would choose the path of small groups doing good work. During this time, Diane and her husband sold their home in Johnston and moved to a new home in Cranston. 

While being a person who believed in data and facts, Diane was also a woman of great faith. She taught CCD for 10 years. First at St Joseph’s Church in Providence, then later at Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston. She became a Eucharistic minister at Immaculate Conception Church, and also volunteered as a Eucharistic minister at Rhode Island Hospital, until COVID restrictions made it more difficult. Two of her favorite memories were getting to see the Pope in Washington DC and the look of peace on patients’ faces when she prayed with them. 

Diane followed in her family’s footsteps of enjoying cars and driving. She was not afraid to try and drive anything, eventually getting the motorcycle endorsement on her driver’s license. Road trips could be a simple drive to the park or beach, or an extended trip to visit with her husband’s family in Oklahoma, making sure to plan entertaining stops along the way for their daughters. These stops could be a simple as a walk through some caverns or a couple of days at an amusement park. She was not only the planner, but also the rock should anything go wrong, reminding her husband things would be okay and entertaining the girls while they found a solution. Diane leaves behind her husband Michael Bynum, and her two step-daughters Melissa and Nicole Almeida. She treasured time with her five grandchildren, Austin Gamboa, Blayke Young, Logan, Sadie and Charlotte Almeida. She also leaves behind her only sibling, her brother David Dugal and his wife Nancie, who live in New Hampshire.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, November 23rd, at 11:00 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Church, Cranston. Burial will be held at a later date. Visiting hours are respectfully omitted. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the VNA of Care New England, VNA of Care New England.