Diane Lawrence Hartman
May 10, 1943 - May 20, 2022
Mom died on Friday. I was sitting by her side in the MICU at Denver Health (where you will find angels of God in the people that work there), holding her hand, and reading to her the latest crime novel I had picked up from the library a couple days before (a stack of novels from Tattered Cover was always her favorite Christmas gift to me). We also spent the morning listening to her favorite bluegrass and country artists, Willie Nelson, Ricky Skaggs, Emmy Lou, Allison Kraus, all singing songs of coming home to Jesus (thank you Pandora for Swing Low, Sweet Chariot). Mom wasn’t responsive in body, but I know that this time was a comfort to both of us. Mom suffered a “massive hemorrhagic event” on Thursday. She and I had spoken a lot about her wishes, especially lately, and she even kept a “Will” folder in her desk with her directions and suggestions to me so there was no questions or second guessing in the end, and that was a blessing.
The nuts and bolts. We will have a service in her honor on Monday, June 27 at 1PM at Saint John’s Cathedral (one of her happy places), in the Saint Martins’ Chapel (1350 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80203) followed by BBQ, bluegrass, visiting, and sharing in the Parish Hall. Her dear friend Richard, the Dean at Saint John’s, is from Alabama and will lead the service. If you were thinking of sending flowers, I guess I would rather you donated to Saint John’s in support of their young adult and community programs. I’ll also be posting an official obit in The Denver Post and The Birmingham News soon with all her amazing accomplishments.
Mom was so smart, getting her B.A. and M.S. in journalism from the University of Alabama when I was a toddler. You did not want to play scrabble or trivial pursuit with the woman (can’t we just put together a puzzle, mom??). We were so poor; I remember her telling me the story of when I crawled up on the kitchen counter in our house in Anniston and getting all the food and pouring it into a bowl (just add water) to make a cake for her and her walking in to discover this creation and having to “bite the door” as I’d just destroyed the food for that week. But everyone in Alabama seemed to be poor so that was okay. And later when she worked at the Anniston Star, she had the greatest friends in her fellow journalists and there seemed to be constant parties and convoys to Horse Pens 40 to spend the weekend sleeping under the stars, listening to bluegrass, dancing, and drinking (them, not me, I was 5).
Mom loved hearing peoples’ stories and made so many good friends while she was a journalist and editor at The Denver Post, where she also reviewed books. She then worked at the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations, where she retired after 20 years, as director of communications where she also made lifelong friends (and gave no end of grief to Chuck Turner); she also co-authored, The Bench and the Bar, 100 years of the Denver Bar Association.
Mom was outraged. An avid democrat and active in every election, especially the Obama campaigns, she would call me, sometimes more than once in a day, to be sure I knew to also be outraged about the latest thing going on (Mom, please turn off your television for a bit). But lately that outrage had taken a turn and she was feeling hopeless that all the hard work accomplished by her, and her fellow advocates, was being undone.
Mom loved her friends fiercely. She loved her grandsons, Oliver and Patrick, so much and was so incredibly proud of both of them. And I know (as all of you know as well because you had to hear about every accomplishment or happening in my life over the past decades) that she loved me with all her heart and was always proud of me. I will miss her. The phone will be very quiet.
Love to you all, Sasha
Donations
If you were thinking of sending flowers, I guess I would rather you donated to Saint John’s in support of their young adult and community programs.
Memorial Service
June 27, 2022
1 PM
Saint John’s Cathedral
1350 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80203