DIANA E. FRIEDMAN

DIANA ELENA SCOTT FRIEDMAN  
World traveler and citizen of three countries, avid gardener with an artistic eye, died peacefully at her home in Bethesda, June 5, 2014 of cancer, at the age of 87, surrounded by her devoted husband of 62 years, Abraham S. Friedman (Abe), and her four loving daughters. Born in Formby, England, of a Chilean mother and British Navy father, she returned to Chile as a young child to be raised by her Chilean mother and grandmother, and French grandfather. Thus began her multi-cultural existence and life-long passion for travel. A graduate of Universidad de Chile, on a whim she applied for, and won, a scholarship to study fine arts at Ohio State University. She arrived in the U.S. in 1949, and recalls her first impressions of America: a country of skyscrapers, football, and wealth. It was while taking courses in Chemistry for her specialization in Ceramics and Related Materials that she met her future husband. She returned to Chile after completing her Master's Degree in Fine Arts, but it was not long after that she took a boat to Amsterdam, where Abe was a Fulbright research scholar, and they married.  Asked why she stopped working with pottery after her children were born, she would answer, "My children are my pots." Diana was an artist in every aspect of her life. Her home, her garden, and her loved ones were all, to her, artistic creations, to be loved and cared for as an artist tends to her art. Her life with Abe, a nuclear scientist and diplomat, was one of travel, cultural exploration, good food, and good friendships. They lived in France, Germany, and Mexico, and traveled and made friends all over the world. Diana prized understanding other cultures and instilled this value in her children, enrolling them in French schools when living in Paris, and inspiring them to travel and to learn several languages.  In addition to her husband, Diana Friedman is lovingly remembered and survived by her four daughters, Danielle Michelman (David), Rebecca Stanger (Jordan), Abigail Friedman (Eric Passaglia) and Michelle D'Elia (Peter); 11 grandchildren, Sarah Lo (Lewis), Ariel Michelman-Ribeiro (Arthur), Dinah Michelman, Aviva Michelman-Dumas (Cheryl), Nina Stanger, Nathaniel Stanger, Abraham Passaglia, Martha Passaglia, Samuel Passaglia, Rachel D'Elia, and Benjamin D'Elia; and her six great-grandchildren, Isaac, Raphael, and Jonah Lo, and Daniel , David, and Miriam Diana Ribeiro.  Donations may be made in Diana Friedman's name to the Jewish Social Service Agency (jssa.org) or So Others Might Eat (some.org). The family will receive friends at home on Sunday, June 8 from 4 to 8 p.m.