Diane Tolbert Covan died on Aug. 19, 2021, after a heroic battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband, Fred; sons, Zachary and Benjamin; stepsons, Alexander and Daniel; sister, Kathryn Burns; and many cousins, including her Sicilian family, with whom she became very close.
In Jewish tradition, there is an ideal of the “Woman of Valor.” Essentially, this refers to a woman “designated by G-d to bravely and forcefully give life to the world around her.” There is no doubt Diane was brave and forceful. She was born in Miami and attended the University of Florida for her undergraduate and law degrees. While there, she supported herself by working for the Center For Governmental Responsibility, which helped to draft litigation that led to the resignation of President Nixon. After school, she briefly worked for a criminal defense firm in Miami, and was sent to Key West to defend a marijuana smuggling case. Diane won the case and was offered a job by the local State Attorney’s office as a prosecutor. She took the position and moved to Key West in 1977; however, prosecution was not in her blood, and so she opened her own criminal defense firm.
In 1980, Diane was hired by a group of commercial fishermen who had gone to Cuba as part of the Mariel boatlift. Those boats received a U.S. Coast Guard escort on the way to Cuba; however, on their return, our government decided the venture was illegal. The boats were seized and the captains were charged criminally. Diane went to Miami and, as she related, faced 12 U.S. prosecutors in dark suits while wearing a “skimpy sundress.” Judge Stanley Aronowitz accepted her defense arguments and ordered the fishing fleet released. Thus, she saved the South Florida commercial fishing fleet. Diane spent the next 12 years defending these fishermen and succeeding in having the charges and civil penalties dropped and eventually received attorney’s fees from the U.S. government.
While on vacation, Diane met her husband, Fred, at a party in New York City on Thanksgiving 1982. They were married in 1984 and lived in New York City for 10 years, where she practiced law, had two sons, Zachary and Benjamin, and helped raise Fred’s sons, Alexander and Daniel. In 1994, after completing an agreement to live in New York for 10 years, she forcefully moved the family back to Key West and continued to practice law. In 1994, she became the attorney for the City of Key West for two years. After completing that adventure, she became certified in Health Law and continued to practice until she retired and opened a yoga studio. Diane was respected and loved by her clients, although not always loved by their opponents. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends in the community.