A true love story.

That was how one co-worker described the relationship between Dan and Diane Edwards.

“Whenever he would come by, you could see that there was this connection,” said Euneta Weeks, a student worker for family, consumer, and nutritional sciences.

“Whenever she talked about him, you realized they were all about family and love,” Weeks said.

On April 23, Dan, NIU’s glassblower for 17 years, was riding a motorcycle with his wife Diane, a secretary at FCNS, traveling east on Highway 38 near I-39 when they collided with a semi-truck.

Dan was killed, and Diane has been hospitalized since.

Her absence in the FCNS office has created a noticeable void. Pam Roesner, secretary and co-worker of Diane’s, said she did a lot of undergraduate advising paperwork.

As a result, Diane’s work has been distributed among her co-workers, who were more than willing to help out.

“Everyone wanted to pitch in and help out in her absence,” Roesner said.

But it has not been easy. Roesner described being in shock the first couple of days, with the realization of what happened sinking in some time later. Weeks expressed similar sentiments.

“The first few days around the office were very sad,” Weeks said. “We weren’t sure if it was right to laugh.”

Both Roesner and Weeks described Diane as not only dedicated in her work, but also as having a good relationship with students and co-workers.

“She always got back to people. People didn’t have to follow-up with her,” Roesner said. “She takes care of things from start to finish.”

Because of her dedication, Diane has received several awards, including certificates of recognition “for outstanding contributions and commitment to diverse student learning styles” from the Center for Access-Ability Resources in 2001 through 2004 and again in 2006.

Dan and Diane were supposed to retire at the end of this school year. However, the accident has made the future murky. Roesner said the Edwards were in the final stages of building a home in Wisconsin.

After the accident, Diane was transferred from Rochelle Community Hospital to Rockford Memorial Hospital, until finally being transferred to a hospital in Milwaukee. Weeks said Diane’s family is in the area and one of her daughters works at the hospital.

The extent of Diane’s injuries are unknown. Weeks said she heard from Diane’s daughter that Diane will have three surgeries altogether.