From Sideshow Collectibles:

"We are saddened to announce that on Saturday, December 9, Diane Kamahele, 42, long-time Sideshow employee and very dear friend, passed away from apparent heart failure.

Diane was one of Sideshow's earliest employees, having joined the company more than 7 years ago as our first salesperson. Most recently she served as the manager of the company's wholesale division, overseeing a six-person team and more than 700 trade accounts. She also acted as the company's first public relations liaison, a role she would eventually share with Anastasia and Monty Mickelson. Her energy and passion for Sideshow's business was extraordinary, whether for the company's staff, the trade accounts that carried Sideshow product or the press folks with whom she developed lasting relationships.

"Diane loved her job, often going way above and beyond what was necessary. Her passion was for the people who worked with her and for those with whom she associated outside of the company," noted Greg Anzalone, Sideshow's President. "Diane's nature was to be a giving person. She seemed happiest to me when she was supporting her staff and providing the best possible service to all who came into contact with her."

"Diane was an integral part of building Sideshow into the company that it is today. Her devotion to our mission was unquestionable," explained Anzalone. "She was with us when the concept of self-distribution was born. Her role was to develop and maintain hundreds of relationships with wholesale accounts across the country. She embraced that role and thrived on the vision. She loved the challenges and the rewards associated with our business."

"Though Diane was a tireless worker, and few of us could keep up with her, she was also the embodiment of the modern working Mom," said Anastasia. "First and foremost she was a mother, a wife and a friend." Diane is survived by her husband, Charles, and three children, Charlie, Jr., 8 years old. Dylan, age 6, and a daughter Keilani, age 3. She also leaves behind a brother, Ron, and her parents, Oliver and Harriet.

"Diane wore her heart on her sleeve. She was a tremendously giving, compassionate and loving person. It's cruelly ironic that a woman who expressed herself with such an open heart to so many people would be taken away by the failure of her heart," said Anzalone. "We are at a loss to fully express our pain and sadness at her passing. She was too young to leave us and too eager to continue with her vision of what she, her family and Sideshow could become. She will be deeply missed."

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Diane Kamahele Memorial Fund.