DIANE "DREW" REINHARDT

1945 - 2025

REINHARDT, Diane "Drew" Beloved sister, scholar, writer, quilter Diane "Drew" Reinhardt died last night at her care facility, NewBridge on the Charles, in Dedham, MA. She was 79. Drew, as she was popularly known, was born on December 7, 1945 in Philadelphia, PA. Her mother was a public health consultant who received her PhD from Yale School of Epidemiology and Public Health. Her father was a mechanical engineer, key to the development of the life support system for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Drew graduated from Vassar College in 1967. She married her college sweetheart, Allen P. Cox, a Yale graduate from West Texas, where he was a star high school football quarterback. While he fulfilled his U.S. Navy obligation, with tours in Vietnam, she attended Stanford University, completing her PhD in English with a focus on Thomas Hardy. After receiving her degree, she joined the faculty of DeAnza College in Cupertino, CA, where she taught English. Following his graduation from Stanford University Law School, she and her husband relocated to Denver, Colorado, where Al joined the Public Defender's office and Drew won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to research literature that took California as its subject. There she joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado, forming a lifelong friendship with her little sister and her family. She also began work on a novel. Al died suddenly in 1979. Drew applied to and joined the Iowa Writers' Workshop as a student and completed her novel, as yet unpublished. She remained in Iowa City for the next 38 years and was an active volunteer in the Crisis Center of Johnson County. For many years, she tutored students at City High. She became an expert quilter, completing more than 200 pieces. She continued to write fiction. She relocated to Brookline, Massachusetts seven years ago and moved to NewBridge on the Charles in late 2023. She is survived by her sister, Shelley Reinhardt; and Christopher Kerr of Dorchester, MA; her nephew, Graham Reinhardt Kerr; and Sara Engelsman Kerr of New York, NY; and several cousins to whom she was devoted. Contributions in her memory may be made to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado, 7535 E. Hampden Ave., Suite 605, Denver, CO 80231 or CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank, 1121 S. Gilbert Court, Iowa City, IA 52240.

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