Diane Murrell Herbert

Obituary For Diane Murrell Herbert

Diane Yvonne Murrell Herbert was born on January 2, 1950 in New Bern, NC to John and Annie Mae Murrell. She made her transition on March 17, 2023.

She was selected along with three other young ladies to integrate New Bern High School in 1964, ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Although, as Diane recounted years later, she experienced New Bern High School as more of a “battleground” than an academic institution due to racial tensions, Diane and her fellow pioneers persevered and succeeded, graduating from New Bern High School in 1968. Diane graduated from Spelman College in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. She was an active and generous alumna, and could perennially be found on Spelman’s Donor Wall of Fame. After graduating from Spelman, Diane joined her older sister, the late Catherine Murrell Stroud, in New York City. She enrolled in Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, earning her Master of Arts in Social Work. Later, she would earn a Masters in Special Education from the College of New Rochelle. In her career as a Social Worker, Diane focused on individuals and communities in need, developing and managing programs and funds that primarily benefited children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities in the South Bronx, NY. She served at the New York City Department of Social Services, the New York City Department for the Aging, Leake and Watts Services, Inc., and finally at Southeast Bronx Neighborhood Centers, Inc. (SEBNC). At SEBNC, Diane served for several years as the Associate Executive Director for Developmental Disabilities. In 2008 she was selected to serve as the agency’s Executive Director, a role she held until she retired in December 2013. In 1982, Diane met Alan Herbert, the man she often referred to as “God’s best for me.” They married in 1989, and enjoyed a loving partnership.

Diane’s spiritual foundation was laid at an early age at St. Peter’s A.M.E. Zion Church in New Bern. Diane was an active member of several churches including Convent Avenue Baptist Church, New York City, NY, Union Baptist Church, White Plains, NY, and Latter Rain Revival Centre, St. George’s, Grenada.

Diane’s spiritual walk was practiced through a life of service and activism on behalf of others. She served as the second Chairperson of the Board of Directors of River Watch, an organization founded by her sister, Catherine. River Watch’s many initiatives included a computer literacy program with classes held in a state-of-the-art computer facility, a Youth Activity Center, and a food pantry that at its height served approximately 6,000 individuals monthly.

Diane had a passion for travel and experiencing all of the beauty and culture the world has to offer. As her husband Alan noted, "Diane traveled from Alaska to Africa and everywhere between.” She was blessed to have visited many countries, including South Africa, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, England, Cuba, and Dubai to name a few. She had a special fondness for the Caribbean, especially Grenada, her husband’s birthplace and the island that became her chosen home. Most recently, Diane fulfilled her lifelong dream of visiting Ghana in December 2022. She shared with family, friends, and neighbors that it was her most rewarding travel experience to date.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved husband Alan, her sisters Marilyn Cassandra “Sandy” Murrell, Evelyn Boyd, and Joyce Andrews, her brother Ricky Sparrow, her nieces Joannie Stroud, Terri Stroud, Shawn Freeman, Shannon Freeman, Cheryl Simmons, LaDonia Boyd, Kim Andrews, Shania Stroud, and Ninicky Bell; her nephews Edmond “Duke” Midgette, Sharod Murrell, Austin Davis, Pedro Stroud, Terry “Tee Tee” Stroud, Charles Leonard, Jabari Leonard, Neal Andrews, and Jevon Andrews, her mother-in-love, Agnes Herbert, a host of other cherished family members, in-laws, friends, and mentees far too vast and numerous to mention, and last but certainly not least, her furry, four-legged best friend, Happy Herbert.