Canandaigua- Diane Lefevre Wright was born April 3, 1929 in Beaver Falls, NY. Her parents were DeWitt Chauncey LeFevre and Virginia Adams LeFevre. Her father died in 1987 at age 87 of a massive heart attack. Her mother died in 1998 at age 93 after several strokes. She lived in Hallmark Nursing Home in Carthage from 1995 to 1998 and was able to spend many weekends at her home in Beaver Falls during that time.
Diane attended grade school and high school in Beaver Falls, and was valedictorian of her high school class in 1947. She was active in school activities during her four years. They included: student council representative, member of chorus and bands, editor of school paper, junior and senior plays, first prize in Lewneida League Speaking Contest in 1946 (portraying Dolly Madison) and editor of 1947 school yearbook.
In the summer of 2019, former state Sen. H. Douglas Barclay invited his good friend Joseph L. Rich down to his spacious parcel, Douglaston Salmon Run, County Route 5, Pulaski. Mr. Rich hopped into a four-wheeler, with Mr. Barclay confidently at the wheel.
âHe took me on a joy ride like you wouldnât believe,â Mr. Rich recalled on Tuesday, two days after Mr. Barclay died at the age of 88, leaving behind a legacy of exemplary public service. âI mean it was up the hills and down the hills. I told him it was better than any ride at the fair. I was holding on for dear life.â
DELAND The crew behind the restoration of the J.W. Wright Building has always known the property is special.
Now, it s official, because the 101-year-old building at 258 W. Voorhis Ave., the center of what used to be a thriving district for the Black community, made it to the National Register of Historic Places. After several different hurdles, we were able to make that accomplishment, and I am just stoked about it, said Mario Davis, executive director of Greater Union Life Center Inc., a DeLand-based nonprofit that owns the building.
Davis said restoration expert Mark Shuttleworth, who owns downtown s Florida Victorian Architectural Salvage, and Sidney Johnston, assistant director in Stetson University s Office of Grants, Sponsored Research and Strategic Initiatives, were instrumental in bringing that goal to fruition.