Diana M. Barnes' Obituary
Diana sadly passed away on September 5, 2022, surrounded by her loving family -- son Tim, daughter Tania and husband Peter, with whom she had just celebrated her 50th Year Anniversary. She was a devoted, loving mother to her two children and an adoring grandmother to her grandchild Max.
Her passing at The Bay Care Cancer Center Clearwater Beach was the culmination of two surgeries to beat colon and stomach cancer that chemotherapy failed to defeat.
Born in Perth Western Australia to parents Gordon Davis and Marie Farrelly, Diana was the youngest of four including twins brother Robert and sister Sue and eldest brother Max.
She was educated at Perth Modern school where she graduated with honors before becoming a secretary for a Perth law firm. When her parents moved to Melbourne she became a paralegal for one of the partners of the leading legal firm in Melbourne.
She met her future husband Peter Barnes who was Managing Director of an international Advertising Company based in NYC which kicked off a whirlwind courtship, culminated in a marriage that had Diana leaving for America with her new husband in May 1972.
She was extremely accomplished in her new life, joining the Australian Trade Commission in New York as Secretary to the Trade Commissioner, where she worked with Pip Muir, who became her dear friend and colleague at both NW Ayer, a leading NY based Ad firm, and Bell (later Verizon) telephone. Later she left for NYU, where she became the Director of Administration of the Politics Department for over 7 years, winning the Distinguished Administrator award in 2005 for her service excellence.
During this time she had a wide range of dear friends, in addition to Pip Muir from New Zealand, her friends Helen Ward and Zara Kimpton would visit from Australia and enjoy the Barnes house in the Hamptons, where Diana loved to cook (as long as it was not breakfast!) and entertain. Diana’s wonderful culinary talents also blossomed by working for the leading food purveyor in the Hamptons, Loaves and Fishes …affectionately known as “Loans & Finances”, and by her many years of catering and hosting friends and family in New York, Connecticut and Florida. She even produced several much sought after cookbooks with such Diana hits as coconut shrimp and Roman beef stew. And no one on either side of the Pacific could top her passion fruit pavlova!
She loved to read and was always pressing her latest recommendation on her children and friends. She had an acerbic wit and suffered no fools; she wasn’t “nice,” she always said, but she was (deeply) kind.
She will be missed by many.
Including our new Florida friends that helped Diana through her ordeal at the Coop on Clearwater Beach Kristin, Fernando, Francine, Carolyn then Deb and Carey on Coop Board where Diana was still acting as Treasurer down to almost the last day.
What’s your fondest memory of Diana?
What’s a lesson you learned from Diana?
Share a story where Diana's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Diana you’ll never forget.
How did Diana make you smile?