Diane Rapaport gently and peacefully left this earth for what she called the galaxies beyond Jan. 9, surrounded by her husband, Walter Rapaport, her two sons, Michael Sward and Max Rapaport, and friends from Utah and Burns. Her daughter, Kamala Joy, was there in spirit as she was in India.

Diane  was born June 12, 1939 and had an amazing life.

She held a master’s in Renaissance English literature from Cornell University, quite a feat as she became pregnant with her daughter her last year and had to lobby hard not to be forced to drop out as pregnant women were expected to in those days.  Her son, Michael, was born in 1964, and her son, Max, in 1977.

She is widely known for her work in the independent recording industry and her books, Making and Producing Your Own Recording and The Musician’s Business and Legal Guide, and has provided the keynote address at more than one music conference. She was instrumental in pulling off the first and several subsequent San Francisco Hooker’s Balls, seminal events in the 1970s that are still talked about and emulated. She also wrote the well known book about Jerome, Ariz., Home Sweet Jerome, also the name of her worthwhile blog about many things at https://homesweetjeromedrapaport.wordpress.com/.

Most recently, she had been editing the book Wrenched from the Land, a collection of interviews with environmental activists famous in their own right who were also inspired by Edward Abbey, to be published April 1, 2020, by the University of New Mexico Press. Since moving to Burns, she served tirelessly on the city council and many water committees and working groups. In the last several years, Diane made critical and lasting contributions to addressing Harney Basin water resource issues. In addition to serving on the Harney County Watershed Council board for nearly five years, she was highly engaged in the Harney Community-Based Water Planning Collaborative, including sharing her sage advice as a coordinating committee member. As chairwoman of the collaborative’s Domestic Well & Municipal Working Group, she organized efforts to articulate issues and amass essential information, and worked effectively  to find and advance solutions. A teacher through and through, she was deeply dedicated and effective at gathering and sharing information with the community, often doing so through her talent of writing. Her combined passions for sustainability and community were reflected in how she drove change through working together.

During her almost 25 years in Jerome, she also contributed to her community, serving on their town council and the Jerome Historical Society.  She is widely known also for serving her community by helping friends – with resumes, applications, relationships, financial planning, and the like. In Burns, she was also known as the tai chi teacher who helped many people learn the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of relaxation.

All who came into contact with her were acquainted with her kindness, generosity, curiosity, and sense of humor.  Many of us got to hear her full-throated merry laugh, which could come with little provocation. Many of us got to eat her legendary cooking. Somehow she would find the time to make special dishes like baklava or spanakopeta for almost any occasion, just to make something that might normally be everyday be a memorable one. She always seemed to be looking for an excuse to host a dinner party, where laughter and hilarity and lots of food were consumed, along with unbelievable stories of her and her husband Walter’s adventures on river trips and through life.

She is survived by her three children mentioned above; grandchildren, Aaron, Robin, and Myko; great-grandson, Roscoe, recently born to her grandson, Aaron, and her granddaughter-in-law, Crystal; brother, Paul, and his son and daughter, Chris and Nicole.

She will always be in our hearts.