Diana Shanley

Diana Bryan Shanley, 89, of Snydersville, passed away peacefully on April 30, with her loving children by her side. Diana was born March 16, 1928, in New York City to Margret Adams, a stage actress, and Vladimir (Val) Rosing, a composer, tenor opera singer, and founder of the American Opera Company. She had an interesting and colorful childhood living in NYC and Mansfield, PA. She spent three years in Mexico City with her aunt while her stepfather, Charles C. Bryan, served overseas in WWII. Diana always talked about Charlie Bryan’s strong and positive influence in her life, encouraging her to pursue her education. She graduated from Penn State University in 1950 with a BA in Child Development, and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She later earned an MS in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Scranton. Diana came to the Poconos in 1950 to run the nursery school in Shawnee with her best friend Cynthia Adams in what is now the Shawnee Playhouse. She met Tom Shanley and they married in 1952. They bought an old farmhouse in Snydersville, where they raised their 5 children. Tom passed away in 1982. Diana started her career in social work in 1965 at the Burnley Workshop as a rehabilitation counselor. There she championed the deinstitutionalization of mentally challenged individuals and worked to integrate them into society. Her search for appropriate housing led her to meet with Mrs. Johanna Fitzmaurice, who agreed to take six men from White Haven State Hospital into her boarding house. That arrangement ultimately developed into Fitzmaurice Community Services, which to this day provides residential and vocational services for people with developmental and behavioral disorders. From 1974 to 1995, Diana worked for Carbon-Monroe-Pike MH/MR. As MR Coordinator, she developed, planned and directed mental retardation programs including early intervention, adult developmental centers, family support services, and vocational training programs. She spent countless nights and weekends on call for the MH/MR emergency crisis intervention hotline. Diana was the assistant director of Open Forum, a partial hospitalization program for chronically mentally ill patients. She implemented a collaborative, community-based system of care that brought all child-serving agencies together and helped secure Medicaid funding to improve the delivery of mental health services to children and adolescents. After retiring from MH/MR, Diana served as the Clinical Director for Family of Artists, an after school program for emotionally disturbed children. She also provided low cost therapy services for Resources for Recovering Families. Diana established a private practice in 1989, providing individual and family counseling and psychotherapy. She closed her office just last year, but continued to counsel some of her devoted long-term clients in her home. Diana is survived by her five children: Jamie Shanley, his wife Kim and their two children -Tom and Ava of Montpelier, Vermont; Melissa Yetter, her husband Gene of Snydersville and their three children - David Deuschle (Erica) of Havertown, Corey Yetter of Reeders, and Caitlin Darkwah (Nana) of Clearwater, Florida; Jennifer Dillon, her husband Gary of Snydersville and their three children - Lissa Bender (Asa) of Groton, Connecticut, Emily Galligan (Paul) of West Tisbury, Massachusetts, and Abigail Dillon of Burlington, Vermont; Maura Graybill, her husband Kurt of Kane and their two children, Laura Lorenzo (Scott) of Kane and Austin (Ashley) of State College; and Meghan Waskowitz, her husband Bob and their three children - Jackson, Jake, and Addie of Avon, Connecticut. In addition to her 13 grandchildren, she had 11 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by two brothers, Charles A. Bryan of Denver, Colorado, and Richard Rosing of Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to her husband Tom, Diana was preceded in death by her special companion Art Fry, and her beloved English Setters, Dreena and Anya. Diana’s life was filled with love of friends and family. She was deeply admired and respected by all who knew her. She was a profound influence and inspiration to her family and friends, with her common sense advice and reassuring presence. Diana opened her home to anyone in need and touched many lives both personally and professionally. Her lifelong commitment to helping others has had a lasting impact on our community. Calling hours will be held at Bensing-Thomas Funeral Home, 401 N. 5th Street in Stroudsburg on Thursday, May 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. A celebration of Diana’s life will be held at the Shawnee Playhouse at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 5. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Fitzmaurice Community Services (www.fitzmaurice.org) to honor Diana’s social work, or to AWSOM Animal Shelter (www.awsomanimals.org), to honor her love of dogs.