SUSAN DIAMOND, ASH, BSI
Remembering The Lone Star (BSI: The Great Mogul)
by Marilynne McKay
Susan put up a valiant battle against esophageal cancer until April 25, 2019. We have lost one of our best Sherlockian Adventuresses and we mourn with her beloved husband, Allan Devitt, ASH, BSI. Susan Diamond was a sparkling gem among Sherlockians, true to her BSI investiture as the diamond called The Great Mogul. (“Mogul” to her friends, whom she graciously allowed to drop the “Great.”) Susan grew up in Texas (her ASH investiture was The Lone Star), but she spent most of her life in the Chicago area. She was a graduate of the University of Chicago, majoring in English Language and Literature; she later earned an MBA from DePaul University. Susan published and lectured extensively on finance and business management and was the president of her own company, Diamond Associates, Ltd, for over 45 years.
Susan was incredibly organized and seemingly tireless; it was a lucky scion that counted her among its members. The Chicago Silver Blaze was started in 1960 by the late Bob Hahn, BSI. In 1995, Susan took the reins for The Watsonian Weekend. At this writing, the Chicago race is the oldest still active and annually-running Silver Blaze event in the world.
In 2003 Susan and Marilynne McKay began what was to become a twenty-year co-editorship of The Serpentine Muse. As the Contributions editor, her correspondence enabled her to “go everywhere and see everything” that came in over the Adventuresses’ transom. Her literary background made her an excellent editor, and few Muse authors argued with her sage editorial advice.
Susan was a founding officer of the Beacon Society since 2003, serving as Secretary, President, and Chair of the Grants Committee; the Society’s most prestigious award for outstanding efforts to introduce young people to Sherlock Holmes was named the Susan Z. Diamond Beacon Award in her honor in 2019.
At the 2018 Autumn Luncheon, Francine Kitts read Susan’s Toast to ASH Friendship. In that toast (appearing in Muse 35.1), Susan wrote of the friends she had made in ASH and the importance of her Sherlockian relationships.
She was a longtime leader of Chicago’s Criterion Bar Association (past president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary; Young Stamford Award, 1996), and was a member of Torists International, The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Scotland Yarders, The Clients of Adrian Mulliner, The Turf Builders of Baker Street, SBIOS, and SBC.
Susan maintained that the Sherlockian world “is supposed to be fun; after all, it began as a take-off on literary criticism, not as literary criticism.” Some of her more amusing memberships included now defunct or inactive groups such as The Central Press Syndicate, The STUD Sherlockian Society, Paget’s Irregular Horse, The Mycrofts of the Midway, The Wimsical Sherlockians, and the Flying Decanters. (And we’re not even counting Sherlockian events, cruises, trips, dinners and convivial adventures taken by Susan and Allan over the years!)
Commensurate with her love of literature, Susan also served proudly as the president of the local Public Library Board in Bensenville and was a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America; co-president of the Chicago Accident Syndicate, the Chicago chapter of The Wodehouse Society; and was a member of the Angela Thirkell Society.
Susan was an ardent feminist: her short list of Sherlockian heroes and heroines included John Bennett Shaw and “all of the women Sherlockians who have fought against gender discrimination.” She campaigned with other enthusiasts for the admission of men to ASH and she was delighted that Allan was in the first group of men invested in the Adventuresses.
Susan was a woman of integrity, wit, charm, and sociability. She adored Allan, her devoted husband of almost 45 years, and each of their series of mostly canine four-legged housemates. She was a shining example of scholarship and dedication to her organizations, communities, and associates. Our sincere sympathy goes out to Allan and Adventuresses everywhere – Susan was a remarkable individual and a much-loved friend who will be fondly remembered by all who knew her.
Memorial donations can be made to The Beacon Society; The Bensenville Community Public Library; The Diamond-Devitt Literacy Fund of The Bensenville Community Foundation, P.O. Box 371, Bensenville IL 60106; the West Suburban Humane Society in Downer’s Grove, IL.
Expressions of sympathy can be directed to:
Allan Devitt
16W603 Third Avenue
Bensenville, IL 60106-2327
