DIANE SCHOSTAK, a longtime Forks resident, member of a legendary West End pioneer family, former director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce and retired executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau, has passed away.

Diane, who was being treated for stage 4 breast cancer, died in Bakersfield, CA, where she had been visiting her daughter and family and awaiting the birth of her two newest grandchildren that were born on Feb. 17.

Diane was thrilled with the birth of Alexis Mae Yaede and Johnathan Austin Yaede and wrote on her Facebook page on Feb. 20, that she was one happy Gramma.

Diane, whose West End roots date back to the pioneer days in the Hoh River valley, began a career in the tourism industry after the timber crisis of the early 1990s.

She became director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce in 1997 and was hired to become executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau in 2006.

Diane retired as executive director of the regional visitor bureau in July 2014, citing health concerns and wanting to spend more time with family.

The daughter of a logger, Diane met her future husband, Ken, at a Saturday night dance in 1978 and was engaged two days later.

The Schostaks ran a shake and shingle mill until the northern spotted owl landed on the threatened species list.The couple realized that the regional economy had to shift.

With the economy changing Diane and her husband opened an outfitting business, serving as guides for young explorers drawn to the natural beauty of the coastline.

Diane’s great-grandfather was John Huelsdonk — the Iron Man of the Hoh — a homesteader who settled near Forks in 1891.

According to legend, Huelsdonk carried an iron stove on his back as he trekked along the river. Mrs. Schostak quipped at the 2006 luncheon that he was actually carrying a shifting sack of flour.

More than 130 well-wishers told Diane what she meant to them at a Jan. 16 dinner and silent-auction benefit held on her behalf at Lake Crescent Lodge.

The benefit, billed as “A Night with Diane,” raised about $9,000 to help cover medical expenses as she was being treated for stage 4 breast cancer.

At the event, Diane told the Peninsula Daily News that she had “lived a blessed life.”

“Life is important, and the care we have for each other is probably the most important thing we have,” Diane said.

Diane was 59 years old.