DiAnne M. Damro

Funeral services for DiAnne M. Damro, 74, Lawrence, will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Trinity Episcopal Church, Lawrence. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Waterloo Cemetery in Waterloo, Iowa.
She died Sunday, July 24, 2011.
She was born Nov. 17, 1936, in Charles City, Iowa, the daughter of Otto and Leone Waldie Damro. She grew up in Waterloo and graduated from East High there in 1954.
She graduated from Upper Iowa University in 1958 and taught secondary school in Waterloo and Newton, Iowa. In 1965 she earned a master’s degree from Truman University and went to Iowa State University, Colorado College and Theatre of Two Arts Expression in New York City, where she did post-master’s work in dance education. From 1966 to 1977, she was dance chairwoman at Fort Hays State, the University of Kentucky and Kansas University. From 1977 until her retirement in 1997, she worked in arts administration at the Kansas Arts Commission and the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
Ms. Damro’s expertise and tenure in the fields of arts administration earned her national recognition. She was a keynote speaker and panelist on arts education for national, regional and statewide conventions. She was on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts that reviewed education grants and evaluated national arts education policies. She received many awards; among them were a Certificate of Appreciation from the Alliance for Arts Education (John F. Kennedy Center) for support of Arts Education, and Honor Award for meritorious service from the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) at the national convention in Boston. She was elected to the National Society of Arts and Letters, Who’s Who in American Women and the World’s Who’s Who of Women. She had held offices in state and national organizations as state dance chairwoman for Kansas and Kentucky AAHPERD divisions and president of the National Dance Association. She wrote 50 articles in national and state publications for the promotion of arts.
In Lawrence after her retirement, she became vice president of the Lawrence Civic Choir, served on the Kansas University Women’s Studies board, Speaking of Dance Inc. board, and was chairwoman of the Lawrence Arts Commission and Lawrence Community Theatre board. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church and sang in the choir, and was a member of Beta Sigma Phi and the KU Women’s Club.
Survivors include Joan Handley, Lawrence, her companion of 27 years, and several cousins.
The family will meet friends for one hour before services Thursday at the church.
The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Humane Society, Trinity Episcopal Choir in Lawrence, Trinity Episcopal Church in Waterloo, or to Douglas County Visiting Nurses, Rehabilitation and Hospice Care, sent in care of Chapel Oaks, 3821 W. Sixth St., Lawrence, KS 66049.
Online condolences may be made at chapeloaksne.com.