Diane Bryant: A Juniper Village at Forest Hills Ambassador’s Story

Ambassador – noun: a person who acts as a representative or promoter of a specified activity.

Diane Bryant always enjoyed being around people. She was born in Pittsburgh and lived in the Pittsburgh projects for most of her early and young adult life. She fondly remembers the friends she had growing up and the countless hours they spent playing together while living there. In her late teen years, Diane took a job working at The Carlton House: “a big condo for wealthy folks”. Her mode of transportation was the bus. One day, a gentleman on the bus started talking with her and they became friends. Eventually, he got a car of his own and started driving Diane to her job. In the mid-1950s, the two married, made their home in Pittsburgh and had four children. After some time working at The Carlton House, Diane opted to take a test for the Post Office. She passed, got hired as a clerk, and made a career of 31 years there. Over the years, Diane has achieved the status of grandmother more than a dozen times over, as well as great-grandma!

Diane’s husband passed away after 50+ years of marriage. After his passing, Diane eventually moved into Allegheny Place, a retirement community in Penn Hills. She spent some time there before coming here to Juniper Village at Forest Hills.

Once here, it did not take Diane long to befriend others and get involved with activities. She said she always liked playing games and cards, and she enjoys the fellowship and staying active. Diane has been known to visit others in their rooms to check on them and cheer them up. She offers ideas to enhance the Connections programming and even passes along the contact information of people she knows who would bring nice programs to Juniper Village.

The most impressive quality about Diane is her ability to remember others’ names. Diane shared the story that someone who worked at her previous retirement community was so touched by Diane remembering her name and told Diane how much that meant to her. Diane said, “People feel very special when you can remember their names.” Her ability to remember others, her enjoyment of being in the company of others, and her desire to remain active and engaged all were qualities that made Diane an easy candidate for being asked to be a Resident Ambassador at Juniper Village. Fortunately for us, she accepted with a smile. She said, “Reaching out to others … that’s what ambassador means to me.”