In Memoriam

Diane Owens McLeod
Class of '58

Diane Owens McLeod, a member of the SJC Class of 1958, passed away peacefully at her home in Medford, OR on Dec. 23, 2008.

Born Eugenie Diane Owens in Philadelphia, Diane was raised in North Wildwood, N.J. Antoinette, still lives. She graduated from SJC with a double major in biology and chemistry, and married her college sweetheart, James McLeod, and the family quickly grew to include four children.

Diane was one of the early success stories in beating Hodgkin's disease in the 1970s. The family moved from Lake Hiawatha, N.J., to Montclair, N.J., to Hanover, MA. A job transfer later took them to the San Francisco Bay Area, where they lived, worked, and entertained family and friends until retirement in 2000.

Diane and James loved the rural outdoors and retired to Medford, OR. Both loved to travel and visited Europe several times. Diane always had a book in her hands, and was an avid reader of suspense and thriller novels. James died in 2004. Diane was a devoted animal lover and rescued a dog-in-need in 2005. Then Lucky and Diane trained together so he could work in nursing homes, schools, and hospitals as a therapy dog. Both loved it.

Diane was a wonderful and caring wife, mother, and friend. She always loved a good laugh and good bowl of pasta.

She is survived by her mother, Jeanette Melchiorre Owens; sister, Antoinette Kill; her four children, James, Stephanie, Thomas, and Christopher; and seven grandchildren.

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