Diane “Di” Bethune (1935-2024)
Bright, funny and selfless, Di absolutely craved knowledge and sharing that knowledge with others
Diane “Di” Bethune, who moved to Manor Park with her husband in 1966 to raise their children here, died in March just two weeks shy of her 89th birthday.
Di grew up in Ottawa from the age of four, first attending Joan of Arc Academy where she learned impeccable French, and then Elmwood School where she excelled in high school becoming a prefect and head of Keller House in her final year. Her parents had moved to Ottawa in 1939 from Victoria, B.C., where her father was a military physician. Her formative summers were spent in Nova Scotia (home to her mother), and she was deeply proud of her Atlantic family roots.
She graduated with a BA in English Literature (and likely a minor in ‘The Habs’) from McGill University in 1956. Following graduation, Di worked briefly as a secretary at the National Research Council. She soon met Don Bethune, an avid golfer and life insurance business owner, who proposed to her over dinner at the Café Champlain on Bate Island – one of three small islands the Champlain Bridge passes over. They married on June 7, 1958, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
Dedicated volunteer
Di and Don had two children – Margot and Andrew – who grew up in Manor Park at 37 Kilbarry Cres. In 1982, Di and Don left for Minto Place in Rockcliffe Park. Di loved renovating houses and when that wasn’t enough, moving houses which eventually brought them back to Kilbarry Cres. again in the late 1980s before a final departure in mid-1990 to a condominium on Dufferin Rd.
Di (and Don) were big readers and encouraged their children in school and in sports. Margot and Andrew grew up surrounded by books which rubbed off on both of them. Family holidays were special with summer vacations in Nova Scotia and at Lake Rousseau in the Muskoka’s where Don’s family had a cottage.
Motherhood was important to Di, especially when it came to her children’s schooling, even once filling in as a French teacher at Manor Park Public School during a teachers’ strike. During their high school years, she was a major presence at basketball and volleyball games, tennis matches and track meets.
Di threw herself into volunteerism, giving her time to many organizations. She canvassed every April for the Canadian Cancer Society and volunteered at the Bronson Home. For many years she volunteered at the Rockcliffe Book Fair and (seemingly) at books sales right across the city.
Di and Don played tennis at the Rockcliffe Lawn Tennis Club as often as they possibly could. They also played indoors at Pinecrest Tennis Club, and later at the Ottawa Athletic Club. Active throughout her life, Di was passionate about running and cross-country skiing. She ran in the annual Terry Fox 10K for more than 10 years and participated in the National Capital Ski Marathon with her team, the ‘Old Grey Méres’.
Books, dogs and Jeopardy
In somewhat of a contradiction, she also loved nothing more than spending quiet afternoons with a good book – murder mysteries, book collecting books, biographies. She was a fan of Jeopardy – an extended family passion – and nothing paralleled an unscheduled day that she could fill according to her own wishes. Di also loved dogs. After she could no longer have any of her own, she filled her apartment with dog paraphernalia. A walk wasn’t a walk without a meet ‘n greet with a dog.
Once her children were old enough, Di began her career as a bookseller at Shirley Leishman Books. Between 1979 and 1984, she also owned two bookstores with Don. Their first venture was the ‘The Bookmonger’ on Kent St. and after it closed, undaunted, they took over a dusty, cramped, used bookstore on Beechwood Ave. called ‘The Vicar’s Bookshelf’, re-naming it ‘New Edinburgh Bookstore’, and running it until its closure in 1984.
Children’s literature was one of Di’s great passions. After their stores closed, she couldn’t let go of the book world and worked at The Bookery on Sussex Dr. and then at Books on Beechwood for many years until she retired in her 80’s. At Books on Beechwood, a book with Di’s stamp of approval was always guaranteed to become a Books on Beechwood bestseller!
Di adored her siblings, her children and her five grandchildren. Di was devoted to Don. She cared for him when he became ill until he died in 2016.
Books, volunteerism, entrepreneurship and athletics defined Di Bethune’s full and impressive life. Above all else, Di loved her family.
With kind appreciation to her children, Margot and Andrew.
A Manor Park Notable is a snapshot of an individual (now deceased) who lived in the Manor Park area, and who made a difference either through career or community involvement. Please send your suggestions for candidates or submissions to manorparknotables@gmail.com.
