Diane L. Jordan

1939 - 2018

Diane ("Diana") L. Jordan

- - Diane ("Diana") L. Jordan, age 79, passed away Monday, November 5, 2018, at Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains. She was born on October 19, 1939, in Mt. Vernon, NY to the late Donald J. and Dolores N. (Carmody) Washburn. In the 1950s she moved to Bergenfield, NJ and graduated from Bergenfield High School in 1957. She attended Fairleigh Dickinson University at the Teaneck campus majoring in Advertising. In 1962 she married her high school classmate John C. Jordan at South Presbyterian Church in Bergenfield and settled in New Milford. Together they raised three children after moving to Oakland in 1965.

Throughout her life Diane was an avid reader, loved contemporary music, literature, movies, television and cooking wonderful meals for her family. While nurturing and raising her own family, she also enjoyed raising and caring for a variety of small animals including cats, dogs, rabbits, chickens and even ducks. Diane was a 4-H leader and a member of the American Rabbit Breeders Association. She was also an active participant in the Oakland PTA and the Oakland Historical Society. She loved learning about and hearing stories of family history and kept a mental catalog of the family tree, on both sides, going back several generations. She loved to talk, tell stories and engage in deep conversations about almost anything. She was articulate, passionate, loving and opinionated, both rebellious and vulnerable, and cared very deeply about the many people she was close to in life.

After the birth of her first child, Diane worked as a full time mother and homemaker until going back into the workforce when her youngest was in middle school. In 1983 she moved to Ringwood where she continued to raise her family, maintain her own home and manage a career. Over the years she worked as an administrative assistant for the Suburban News and Ridgewood News, in shipping and exporting for Frost King and Lever Mfg. and took on many temporary jobs to support herself and pay the bills. At times she was met with the various challenges and struggles of a single working mother but was very resourceful, always landed on her feet, and persevered until her children were on their own.

In 2003 she moved to Butler Senior Community and gradually settled into retirement. During her time in Butler she made many friends and acquaintances and was very active in the local social scene between Butler, Wanaque and Ringwood. She loved to dress in her best clothes and go out to see her friends for some good conversation and take in some live music and dancing. She was often drawn people in need and willingly took an interest in them, and their life story, while she shared her own.

In her role as a mother and grandmother Diane was an affectionate, demonstrative and indulgent influence. She had a curiosity and sense of wonder about the world that was very conducive to identifying with and raising children. Her children would agree that often times she was "one of them" and a "best friend" but still a wise and resilient role model. She was loved and respected within the family and she never stopped encouraging, supporting and providing guidance. She cherished her children, their spouses and her four grandchildren and spoke of them with tremendous pride. She, and the warm, genuine love and affection that she imparted on her family and those she knew her best, will be missed and fondly remembered.

Diane is survived by her son Rick (Nancy) Jordan, daughters Lynne (Jack) Kuhn and Laura (Ard) Wilkinson and grandchildren; Chris Lisica, Molly Jordan, Ard Wilkinson and Natalie Wilkinson.

A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2018 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at D'Agostino Funeral Home, 881 Ringwood Ave., Haskell, NJ. A private burial will take place at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus at a later date.