The Lasting Impact of One Foster Parent’s Love
“If I could help just one child, my life would be worth living.”
That’s what Dianne believed as a teenager. It became the foundation for the life she built over the next six decades.
She didn’t just help one child. She cared for more than 130 children through foster care, adopted nine, and at 85 years old, she is still providing respite care for children and families in need.
For 60 years, Dianne has continued to open her home again and again to children who needed safety, consistency, and someone who would not give up on them.
When asked why she kept saying yes, even when foster care was difficult, her answer was simple.
“They need stability. Consistency. All the care you can give. There’s no limit to how much you can pour into them.”
Her words capture something many foster families know deeply. Foster care is not easy. There are moments of heartbreak, uncertainty, and painful goodbyes. Loving children fully while knowing they may leave takes extraordinary strength.
But Dianne also knows something else: the impact of that love lasts long after a child leaves a home.
Years ago, a little boy she once cared for showed up at her door unexpectedly. Nearly 30 years had passed. He was now an adult with a family of his own, but he still remembered the small acts of care and stability Dianne gave him as a child. He wanted her to meet the family he had built.
Another child reached out to Dianne during a difficult season later in life. Without hesitation, Dianne welcomed her back into her home with love and care, reminding her that she had never been forgotten.
Because love like that does not disappear.
It stays with children long after they leave a foster home. It becomes part of how they see themselves, how they trust others, and how they move through the world.
After all these years, when asked what she would want the children she cared for to know, Dianne answered simply:
“I still love them. I haven’t forgotten them.”
That kind of love changes lives.
It creates stability where there was once uncertainty. It offers comfort during difficult seasons. It reminds children they matter and that someone will continue showing up for them.
To learn more about becoming a foster parent, providing respite care, or supporting children and families in our community, visit https://dabsj.org/what-we-do/foster-care
Every child deserves someone who will keep showing up for them.
