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Diane Gordon (1930 - 2008)

Diane Gordon (right) with partner Dorothy Colley (left) and 1999 Conference co-chair Jeff Denison (center)

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We regret to announce the passing of Diane Gordon, who died November 25 in Reno, Nevada, after a battle with cancer. Diane was the co-chair of the 1999 Affirmation conference held in Lake Tahoe and the partner of Affirmation member Dorothy Colley. Diane was 78 years old.

A memorial service is 2 p.m. Friday at Carson Valley United Methodist Church in Gardnerville for 28 year Sheridan Acres resident and volunteer firefighter Diane Gordon, 78 who passed on November 25, 2008 in Reno. Born May 24, 1930 in San Francisco, CA, Ms. Gordon was an educator who served nearly 30 years as principal of an inner-city high school in San Francisco.

She moved to Sheridan 28 years ago from her home in Gold Hill, which was taken through condemnation proceedings by Housing Oil and Mineral Corp. She served as secretary-treasurer of the Sheridan Volunteer Fire Department from the date of her installation in 1983 until her death, 25 years of continual service in those offices.

A San Francisco 49er fan, she and her long-time friend and companion, Dorothy Colley would entertain friends at their home, the former Sheridan Hotel. Ms. Gordon served as secretary- treasurer of the Douglas County Republican Central Committee for many years. She served as president of the Sierra Nevada Republican Women from 2000 to 2001. She was an ardent supporter of Rudy Giuliani. She served as the co-chair of the Autumn Hills Fire Relief Committee. She was a member of the Sierra Philharmonic League, which puts on Pops in the Park.

Diane is survived by four nieces. In lieu of flowers, please support your local firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement personnel.

Tribute by Alan Blodgett

I was saddened to learn of Diane Gordon's death. Diane was a remarkable woman and a great friend to Affirmation and to me.

I became acquainted with Diane in 1999, the year Affirmation Conference was held at Lake Tahoe. Diane and her long time partner, Dorothy Colley, were co-chairs of the conference. Diane didn't have a Mormon background; even so, she put her heart and soul into preparing for the conference, handling administrative matters, allowing Dorothy to focus on the conference program. As Affirmation Treasurer at the time, I was invited to their home to work out financial matters. Their large rustic home at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains near Carson City, NV was a show place.

The Tahoe Conference was without a doubt one of the best Affirmation Conferences I have attended. The hotel accommodations were indeed the best. Diane and Dorothy were faced with a challenge, however, the conference registrations did not cover all of the costs and the conference was headed for a large deficit. This Diane refused to accept.

The hotel required the use of a certain number of rooms in exchange for our use of the conference facilities. Some of the conference attendees registered at cheaper hotels to save money, leaving us short of meeting our requirement. Diane worked with the hotel manager, whom she had befriended, to get many of these people to transfer to the conference hotel, offering a discount, saving Affirmation hundreds of dollars. Next, she asked the hotel manager to join her in appealing to the county tax officials for an exemption from the California hospitality tax, and to my great surprise, won the exemption. This saved Affirmation nearly $2,000. Not only that, the tax was taken off of our individual rooms and in my case, it resulted in a personal savings of nearly $100.

It was Gary Watts who saved the day. He suggested to all that we donate to the conference the amount we saved on taxes, then he and Millie promptly wrote out a check for several times the amount they saved. Their very generous contribution together with several others put the conference in the black. Diane and I were so happy we danced a jig.

I loved Diane and am so very grateful for her being a part of my life.

Alan Blodgett
Portland, Oregon