People who know her use words such as generous, truthful, compassionate, charitable, noble, selfless and good-hearted in describing Diane Black. If a person were to confront her with these descriptive words, she would undoubtedly be humbled.
Black first came to Johnson County in 1954 when her Coast Guard father started the farming trade, after promising his in-laws he would work on their Johnson County farmland. To do this, though, he had to attend Purdue University, as he had no prior knowledge of farming. Her father, Charles (“Chuck”), and her mother, Louise, lived a life giving back to their community. Black says her philosophy to life came from her upbringing. She says her parents taught her to “tend the garden where you are planted, be that your church or an organization. Weed out the bad stuff, don’t let weeds grow and always leave the garden better than when you arrived.” Carrying on that way of thinking has led Black to impact organizations in Johnson County.
Franklin Community School Corporation, Central Nine Career Center, Franklin College, Johnson County Public Library (JCPL), Girls Inc., United Way of Johnson County, Leadership Johnson County, Johnson County Extension Services and others have benefitted from Black’s time and energy.
She said her church, Hurricane Community Church, will always be number-one on her list. Black has been attending for over 70 years. “You cannot give 100% to five different things,” she says. “You are cheating somebody – if not the organization, then yourself – when you spread yourself thin.”
Black currently gives of her time and talents to JCPL. She volunteers several times weekly to help with the JCPL Foundation’s operations. Black was a founding member of the JCPL Foundation and the Silver Tree Society, a legacy giving group. “Her generosity of both time and treasure has made our JCPL Foundation a success, and enabled JCPL to provide many innovative programs and unique learning opportunities to Johnson County,” says Lisa Lintner Valenzuela, director at Johnson County Public Library. “Diane’s kindness and thoughtfulness are an example to us all. She deeply loves and appreciates Johnson County, and I feel incredibly fortunate to call her a friend.”
Along with her involvement in the library, Black leads three book clubs. She enjoys the diversity of the women in her book clubs and says she learns from them. “Their lives are so different from mine, and that is a good thing,” says Black.
Black says people need to be good listeners in addition to being good talkers, and when asked how she became such a good listener, Black says she trained herself. “I just told myself to shut up,” she says.
Black and her late husband, Bill Black, raised three children who have now blessed her with seven grandchildren, aged 8 to 18. She is proud that her family lives within a quarter of a mile from her today. Black says her greatest achievement has been her family. “I am proud of my kids,” she says. “They are good adults. They get along. They love each other.”
A photograph was published in a local newspaper years ago showing Black wearing bib overalls while walking with two of her children. Black laughingly says this is one of her favorite photos. She says she practically lived in bib overalls at one time in her life.
Farm girl, camp counselor, athlete, teacher, parent, leader – these simple roles are partnered with various educational and career accomplishments, degrees, and titles for Black. They placed Black in the Franklin Community Schools Hall of Fame in 2017. With all of those titles and accolades, she is still the woman pictured in the bib overalls. It is undeniable that Black has planted a garden and invested back in that garden in our community.
Black’s wish and hope is that every person would do something to make a difference. “It does not have to be big,” she says. “If we all helped someone else, what a difference we would make,” she says.
Black provides the example of a neighbor’s working hours being cut back, leading to financial difficulties. “If we just sent an anonymous note with $100 or even $10, with the promise of sending an additional $10 a month, think about how that might make a difference to someone,” she says.
