Diane Patricia Gennaro Tully died on January 2, after a courageous 26 month battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She was 83.
She was born in New York City on March 2, 1942 to Eleanore and Vincent Gennaro. She was the oldest of two daughters. Diane attended The Garden School, a small private school in Jackson Heights, Queens, and completed her bachelor's degree in Sociology at Russell Sage College. She earned thirty credits toward her MSW at Columbia University. Diane's 40 year career was split between working as a Medicare and Medicaid specialist, public health advisor and medical review specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as a relocation counselor and coordinator in the U.S and abroad.
She met her third husband, Thomas Francis Tully, while working at the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services in Manhattan. He was the love of her life. For 29 years, they traveled broadly, discussed the news of the day, enjoyed the theatre and the arts in general, and relished time with family and grandchildren. They were both active in the Democratic Party of Pound Ridge.
Diane loved travel and over her lifetime enjoyed trips all over Europe, Asia , Africa and the Middle East. She lived in London for six years. While Diane had many interests—cooking, reading, politics—she will be remembered in her community for her commitment to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Westchester where she was a dedicated volunteer and congregant for almost 40 years, serving as co-president, board member and committee member. There she made lifelong friends, helped to recruit new ministers, developed programs, planned events and found a spiritual home. The open, intellectual, liberal, religious nature of the Fellowship with its appreciation of the arts felt like home to Diane.
She is survived by her sister, JoAnn Marie Gora , her brother-in-law E. Roy Budd, and nephew Jesse (Chris), two stepchildren Patricia (Steve Bachorik) and Liam (Lauren) and three step grandchildren Jackson, Daniel and Piper, as well as 14 loving cousins and their spouses. Did we mention she loved being a grandmother!
A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 23 at 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Westchester at 236 N. Bedford Rd. Bedford, NY 10506.
