January 5, 1952 – March 17, 2024

A beloved wife, daughter, sister and friend, and highly esteemed and accomplished lawyer, died suddenly on March 17, 2024, in Bonita Springs, Fla. She was 72. Diane devoted a substantial portion of her professional life to bar admissions and legal education. She was appointed by the Court of Appeals to the New York Board of Law Examiners in 1998, after having served for 19 years as an assistant to the Board. She served as chair of the Board from 2001 – 2020. With a sharp intellect and exacting standards, she was a pivotal influence on the substantive and administrative aspects of bar examination in New York and nationally over her tenure. Diane served on the Board of Trustees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners from 1999 to 2008 and served as its chair from 2006-2007. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and of the New York Bar Foundation. In 2023, Diane received the American Bar Association’s Robert J. Kutak Award presented annually to honor one individual who has made significant contributions to the collaboration of the legal academy, the bench, and the bar. In nominating her for the award, Nominating Committee Chair Rebecca Hanner White remarked: “Throughout her many years on the Accreditation Committee and the Council, Diane brought rigor, thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and far sightedness to the accreditation project, leading by example and inspiring those of us lucky enough to work with and to learn from her to try to meet the high bar she set. Incredibly, Diane did this work on behalf of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education while simultaneously serving as Chair of the New York State Board of Bar Examiners, working tirelessly with the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and practicing law. Her hard work and dedication have enhanced legal education and the bar examination process for a generation of law students and law school graduates sitting for the bar.” Among many other accolades, Diane was named one of the New York Law Journal’s inaugural Top Women in Law for 2016, Lawyer of the Year by the Bar Association of Erie County and a recipient of its Award of Merit, and the New York State Bar Association Award for Excellence in Public Service. Diane was a magna cum laude graduate of the University at Buffalo and a cum laude graduate of the University at Buffalo Law School. She worked in the practice of law with her beloved husband, Coleman Volgenau, for over 25 years. Together in 1989 they formed Volgenau & Bosse, LLP, and grew it into a premier insurance defense firm. They sold the practice upon Coleman’s retirement and most recently Diane served as Special Counsel to Hurwitz Fine. Diane will be missed dearly by many. Beyond all of her remarkable talents and achievements, she will be remembered for her quiet dignity and grace, her humility, her extraordinary wit and joyous laugh, her unfailing kindness, and her devotion to family and friends. Diane was a devout Catholic. Her life was a gift to all who knew and loved her. Diane is survived by Coleman, her mother Mary Bosse, brothers Frank, Joseph and Robert, sisters Jeanne and Terese, sisters-in-law Lisa, Michelle and Suzanne and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved father Frank, sister Marianne and brother-in-law Neil. Donations may be made in Diane’s memory to the Erie County Bar Foundation, 438 Main Street, 6th Fl, Buffalo, NY 14202 or online at https://eriebar.org/eriecountybarfoundation), or to any charity of your choice. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held in Buffalo, N.Y. at a future date.