Diane Towne Rosovsky

1921 - 2013

Diane Towne Rosovsky

Dec. 8, 1921 ~ Nov. 26, 2013

A Seattle native, Diane Rosovsky was the youngest daughter of Max and Anna Rosovsky, Russian Jewish immigrants who arrived in Seattle in 1912. When Diane was four, her parents became naturalized citizens changing their name to Rose. Diane attended Bryant Elementary and Roosevelt High School. After graduation, her family moved to Long Beach, CA. Missing her friends, Diane packed a bag, left a note, hopped a bus, and ran away, settling briefly in Oakland where she worked at a juke box company. She soon returned to Seattle to attend the UW and marry her high school sweetheart Robin "Buzz" Towne in 1942. During WWII, she worked at the Sand Point Naval Air Station and in the postwar years raised their three children in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood.

Diane offered many poetry classes to neighbor children, inspiring in some a lifelong love of poetry. In her fifties, she returned to the UW as one of the early "returning women students" earning her BA in English, published several poems locally and one in the Christian Science Monitor. In search of employment, Diane, ever the consummate host, transformed her Seattle home into Gulliver's B&B and later worked at other West Coast inns, utilizing her social graces and sassy wit.

A devoted student of Christian Science, Diane served in many volunteer and leadership positions in her church teaching Sunday School, leading church services and serving on the Executive Board. A lifelong Democrat, she was devoted to social justice, and supported charitable causes at home and abroad. Diane is survived by her children Candace Rosovsky, Andy Towne (Vicki Hayes) of Seattle and Wes Towne, Lopez Island, grandchildren Meredith Towne-DeVito (Charles) of NYC, Joe Towne, Seattle, her God-daughter Helene Diane Williams also of Seattle, as well as nieces, nephews and many friends. She was preceded in passing by her former husband, Buzz Towne and her beloved "Rose Girl" sisters, Sema Maslan Sommerfeldt and Clara Tennenbaum. In lieu of flowers, donations would be welcomed at the Daystar Northwest Foundation (www.DaystarNorthwest.org), the Southern Poverty Law Center (www.splcenter.org) or the charity of your choice.