Diane Elizabeth Blount

We pause to remember Diane Elizabeth Blount, who departed this life on October 27, 2026.

She was born on November 4, 1954, in Harlem, New York. She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Williams, her father James H. Blount Jr. and her brother James O. Blount.

Diane received her early education in the New York City Public School System and received a Master’s Degree in Special Education; a Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Administration.

Throughout her life, Diane worked for racial equity and inclusion in so many areas. In high school, she fought for and achieved the right to have a Black History class in her predominately Black high school. One of her most rewarding positions was working at Norman Thomas High School as an Assistant Principal. She also found fulfillment as a social worker for LBGTQAI+ trauma clients.

More recently, Diane worked in her congregation, the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF) in Durham, NC, as a member and leader of the Multicultural Team (MCT). This work was very important to Diane. At ERUUF, she worked on helping to infuse racial equity and inclusion into her congregation in order to forge a more Beloved Community. With the MCT, Diane helped increase the number of volunteers for the Kwanzaa Karamu (feast). Each December, there are over 80 volunteers that help to prepare, decorate, cook, serve and clean up for the Kwanzaa Karamu. It is one of the ERUUF activities that Diane felt most achieved Beloved Community with so many different people working together in community serving over 200 people on Kwanzaa.

Additionally, Diane loved the Montgomery, Alabama Civil Rights Pilgrimage that she envisioned and helped implement with a small team of volunteers. In 2023 and 2025, the MCT took about 50 people to Montgomery for a week to a number of Civil Rights sites -- primarily emphasizing the Equal Justice Initiative sites. It now occurs every two years as part of ERUUF’s initiative to continue advancing racial equity and inclusion within the ERUUF congregation.

Diane loved to travel, read, cook, bake and watch TV. She also loved to facilitate workshops around racial equity topics.

She leaves behind her cherished wife of 35 years, Carol-Ann Antunes, her sister Claudia Bright and her sister Sylvia Bryant (John), her nephew Jamal Bright (Dellyse), her nieces Akua Jordan (Corey), Ebony Dowdy, a host of great nieces and nephews, and a host of cousins. Diane leaves precious memories of many, many loved ones that her heart was connected to.