Remembering Diana

Here are the remarks I made at the reception following Diana's funeral last Saturday. I was asked to cover her career.

Most of Diana’s professional life was with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – the FDIC. She was working for the Distilled Spirits Lobby when she got a phone call to come for an interview, prompting her to swap clothes with a co-worker so she could wear a dress for the meeting.

Diana served first as a Reference Librarian and then as the Assistant Chief Librarian and eventually as Chief Librarian. I first met Diana in January 1986 when I interviewed for a job at the FDIC.

I remember sitting down in the office she shared with her colleague Len, both desks and the shelves around them piled high with papers and books and the myriad tomes that Libraries had before the advent of databases and the internet.

My job at the FDIC began on March 17 - St. Patrick's Day. The team was very nice and fun to work with. Diana was friendly, witty, and we got to know each other better.

In September of that year she was planning a trip to Scotland with her father. She had not traveled with him before, but they got along well. He was the source of her wry sense of humor. Since she was going to be gone for about three weeks Diana asked me to house/cat sit for her. I agreed.

While Diana and her father were in Scotland her father had a sudden heart attack and died. So she was tending to all of that with the help of nice associate vicar.
After Diana returned to DC and got settled again, she invited me to dinner to thank me for my help as a house-sitter.

While sitting on the couch in her 42nd Street condo and drinking a beer I said to Diana, "There's this really awful joke that keeps going through my head."

Diana poked her head out of the kitchen and arched an eyebrow and said, "Do tell."

"Other than that, what did you think of the play Mrs. Lincoln?"

Fortunately Diana laughed and that cemented our friendship.

Over the years, Diana took on many responsibilities. She helped by writing policy and supervising part of the staff. She managed the Library’s database system – blazing new trails for herself and the staff. She worked well with all the staff and treated everyone fairly. Throughout it all Diana maintained her good humor and friendly nature.

In time her supervisor and friend Carole Cleland retired and Diana became the Chief Librarian. She continued to run things smoothly and let her staff do their jobs with the confidence that she would back them up.

Diana saw many changes at the agency in her 25 years there. She began working at a time when the FDIC was a quiet little agency through the build-up of staff during the thrift crisis of the late 1980’s. Following that she worked through years of down-sizing at the agency.

Diana worked with many people throughout the agency. She had many friends at all levels. She served as an advisor to the FDIC News – a staff monthly. Diana was an award-winning photographer as well.

For many years Diana was active at St. Alban’s Parish with the Grate Patrol – preparing meals for DC’s homeless a couple of times a month. At one point the FDIC recognized Diana for her community involvement. Diana told me how one evening she was on her way home when a homeless man asked her for some change. Diana directed him to McPherson Square where the van would be handing out meals to the hungry. The man muttered, “That food is rotten and it has roaches in it.”

Diana roused herself and said, “I’ll have you know that I cooked the food that is being served tonight and it is certainly not rotten, nor does it have roaches!”

At a time when the Library staff was threatened with outsourcing Diana led the offensive to defend the value of her staff - backing that up with research, statistics and written recommendations from patrons. Much to the consternation of her own bosses there was a lot of pressure brought to keep and support the library staff.

Diana took every advantage to educate her bosses at the FDIC of the scope and nature of library work. It was important to her that others recognized the value of the knowledge and skills of her staff and how the agency benefited from their dedication.

One of the reasons that Diana was such a pleasant co-worker is that she never took herself too seriously. While some people decorate their offices with their diplomas and awards – Diana displayed some of her own photographs, a Dewar’s Scotch ad, a Dame Edna poster, and her Sunday School graduation certificate.

Diana enjoyed her colleagues on the Library staff at the FDIC and regarded them as an extended family. She was our supervisor or boss, but also our big sister. She was approachable. She was willing to spot us $5 till payday on occasion. The library had a tradition of holding its own holiday party and inviting the staff to bring along children and grandchildren. She endured games of Monsters in the Library - children being chased to the sounds or roars (from the monsters) and screams and laughter from the children. She regarded her friend’s children much as her own nieces and nephews.

Diana was supportive of the staff when they were going through personal difficulties or illness. She was always a compassionate colleague, supervisor and friend. This is how I think most of us will remember her.