Sister Diane Kirwan died on Dec. 13 after faithfully serving for 71 years as a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville.

Sister Diane was 90.

On Aug. 22, 1935, James and Catherine (Flynn) Kirwan joyfully welcomed Diane Mary into their Jackson Heights home.

She and her two brothers, James and Charles, were raised in St. Joseph Parish in Astoria, where they attended St. Joseph School and were taught by the Dominican sisters.

Sister Diane attended William Cullen Bryant High School.

She became a lifelong sports fan, especially of the New York Mets.

Because St. Joseph Parish and the Dominican sisters were an active part of her teenage years, her call to religious life was fostered.

On Sept. 12, 1954, Diane entered the Novitiate of the Dominican Sisters of Amityville, and on Aug. 4, 1955, she received the habit and her religious name, Sister Catherine James.

The young women in her “set” were collectively known as the Tulips. She professed First Vows on Aug. 8, 1956, and Final Vows on Aug. 8, 1959.

Diane received a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from St. Francis College and a Master of the Art of Teaching (MTA) degree from St. Michael College, Winooski, Vermont.

At Fordham University in the Bronx, she also earned a Professional Diploma (PD) in administration/supervision.

Sister Diane began her long ministry as an educator in the Diocese of Brooklyn in 1956 at Fourteen Holy Martyrs School. In 1965, she continued her teaching at St. Leonard School.

In 1973, she began her years in administration, first as principal at St. Nicholas School and, in 1983, as assistant principal at St. Agnes Academic High School, College Point.

Still the educator, in 1995, Diane brought her organizational skills to St. Mel’s School, Flushing, as an administrative assistant, and to Incarnation School, Queens Village, as a librarian between 2003 and 2007, when she retired.

A wake and Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Diane were celebrated on Dec. 18 in St. Albert Chapel in Amityville.