Diane Proctor

Diane (Lee) Cole Proctor

Diane Lee Proctor was born February 21, 1946 in Enid, Oklahoma to LaVelle Booher Cole and Wallace Joseph Cole. Her early years were spent in Oklahoma, Texas, and California. In 1952, when she was 5 years old her family landed in Denver, Colorado where she spent her remaining school years, graduating from George Washington High School in 1964. During high school she was very active as an honorary cadet and as a member of the swim team. She enjoyed spending weekends at the Cole family cabin in Grand Lake, snow skiing in the winter and water skiing in the summer.

After finishing high school, Diane was determined to further her education and, despite the appeals of friends and family to remain in Colorado, she enrolled in classes at Connecticut College (“CC”) in the fall of 1964. Though CC was an all-girls school at the time, the Coast Guard Academy located across the lawn helped pass the time between her studies.

During her time at CC, Diane developed a love for education. After completing her psychology degree in 1968, she moved to New York City to pursue her newfound passion, enrolling in Teachers College, Columbia University. Over the next 12 years she would amass masters’ degrees in psychology and education, measurement and evaluation, and psychology before finally completing her doctoral degree in psychology and education, measurement and evaluation in 1980. While pursuing her degrees, Diane applied her craft to positions in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and, finally, Denver.

During this time, Diane met the love of her life, Ralph (Riff) Fenno Proctor, whom she wed on October 23, 1971. In addition to Riff, she also gained two sons Steven Harry Proctor and Richard Alan Proctor from Riff’s previous marriage. After their marriage, Diane and Riff settled in the town that Riff considered home, Montclair, New Jersey. Steve and Rick lived with Riff and Diane in a neat old house on Montclair Avenue during the 1972/73 school year. After the boys left, Riff’s parents, Louise and Ralph Proctor, decided to retire to their summer house in Falmouth, Massachusetts, so Riff and Diane sold the Montclair house and moved into the old Proctor family home on North Fullerton Avenue. In 1977, Diane accepted a position in North Carolina, and Diane and Riff purchased a house in Durham, NC.

Early during their stay in Durham, Riff and Diane came to the realization that it wasn’t the right place for them. In the summer of 1978, Diane convinced Riff to pull up his east coast roots and move back to what she considered her hometown of Denver. They had visited Wally and LaVelle in Denver a couple of times with the boys in the early 70s and traveled through the state, and everyone agreed that Colorado was an amazing place. Steve, having graduated from high school, also pulled up roots and joined Riff and Diane on their adventure to the wild west. Once there, Diane worked as a research and evaluation consultant before landing a position with Jefferson County Public Schools as a Coordinator of Evaluation and Measurement in 1979. Over the next 28 years Diane would continue to pursue her passion for education, serving as the Principal for three elementary schools (Russell, Pennington, and Powderhorn) in JeffCo.

In July 1986, Diane and Riff welcomed their only child, a son, Jeffrey Scott Proctor, into the world. As a working, devoted mother, Diane often worked long hours at her school before coming home to take care of her family. Despite her challenging sleeping schedule, Diane somehow managed to succeed in all aspects of her life as a principal, a mother and a loving wife.

Following the 2007 school year, Diane decided (after much angst) that she was ready to embark on the next chapter of her life and retired from JeffCo in May 2007. Though she had excelled throughout her life, Diane finally met her match when she retired. The idea of relaxing, golfing or taking up a hobby was completely out of the question. After cleaning every closet in the house twice and many tears, Diane accepted defeat and decided to re-enter the workforce, this time as an evaluation consultant for The Evaluation Center at the University of Colorado Denver. Diane quickly took on a full workload of education related projects and was finally content with “retirement”.

Throughout her life Diane was an adamant Denver Broncos fan. As the daughter of an original season ticket holder, she had been raised to root for the Orange and Blue through the good times and the bad. She and Riff were even fortunate enough to attend the 1987 Super Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Over the past three and a half years, Diane cared for Riff through his many health battles. Earlier this year in August, after nearly 43 years of marriage, Riff finally lost his battle. Though Diane struggled with the immense emptiness left by Riff’s passing, she was looking forward to resuming her work life and the arrival of her grandson in February. While in Cape Cod laying Riff to rest, Diane began experiencing significant back and leg pain. After returning home she sought the assistance of physical and massage therapists to help alleviate the pain before finally seeing a physician. An MRI revealed a herniated disc and significant spinal stenosis in her lower back. After cortisone shots proved ineffective, Diane decided to have spinal surgery on December 1 to alleviate her pain. Though there was an initial hiccup in her recovery, Diane was progressing well and looking forward to getting her mobility back right up until the very end. On Friday, December 5, 2014, Diane suffered a seizure, likely the result of a pulmonary embolism, from which she was not able to recover. She was preceded in death by her husband Riff, and survived by her sons Jeff, Steve, and Rick and their respective wives Jessica, Natalie, and Anna; her parents, Wallace and LaVelle Cole; and her grandchildren Kristyn, Ben, Daniel, and Jack.

Diane and Riff chose to spend much of their vacation time together on the beach. Though most anywhere with water, sand, and sun would do, they especially loved spending time at the family’s summer cottage in Falmouth, Massachusetts on the waters of Buzzards Bay. Shortly before her passing, Diane informed the family that if something were to happen to her, she wished to be laid to rest in the same waters where she had helped to spread Riff’s ashes earlier this year. Next year, the family will gather on the waters of Cape Cod to fulfill her wish. A memorial service in Diane’s honor will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2014, at 2:00 PM at Parker United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that those who wish to make donations to the Gathering Place or Saint Jude’s in her honor.