Skip to main content

Diana D. Plitt, 83

Thu, 06/18/2020 - 13:47

Diana D. Plitt of East Hampton, a painter, watercolorist, and sketch artist who was a past president of the Artists Alliance of East Hampton, died in Southampton on June 4. She was 83.

In 1955, when she was 18 and still Diana Deutsch, her cousin Margaret Guissinger nominated her for the Miss America beauty pageant, and she was crowned Miss New York State. She went on to study at the Pratt Institute in Manhattan, the beginning of a distinguished career in the arts.

She was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 24, 1937, to Willard Deutsch and Mabel McCallum, who was a Broadway actress. Mother and daughter first came to East Hampton in the early ‘50s when Ms. Plitt was a teenager. She attended East Hampton High School.

While at Pratt, she was active in the Art Students League. In 1956 she married Norman W. Plitt, who was from York, Pa., and who played professional baseball for a short time. The young couple lived in New York City while Mr. Plitt was studying at Columbia University, and in 1961 they bought a house on Accabonac Road.

While rearing her family, Ms. Plitt was known for her Southern specialties like fried chicken, grits, almond green bean casserole, and pecan pie. She was also active in Guild Hall happenings, read Russian novels from the East Hampton Library, made costumes, and appeared as a dancer in a production of “Oklahoma.”

The family split their time between East Hampton and Roslyn Heights from the early 1970s on, while Mr. Plitt worked as a teacher in White Plains. During that time, Ms. Plitt continued her education at C.W. Post College and began a career as a real estate broker in Manhasset.

They retired here together in 1990. Afterward, she went on to exhibit artwork at Guild Hall and Ashawagh Hall. She helped curate exhibits, mentored other artists, and propelled the Artists Alliance of East Hampton to new popularity during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Mr. Plitt died in 2007, a year after the couple celebrated 50 years of marriage. In 2017, Ms. Plitt had heart valve replacement surgery, and afterward moved to the Westhampton Care Center. 

A longtime member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, she cared deeply about East Hampton, her family said.

“She was known for her creativity, her understanding of other people’s situations, and her giving and exceptionally kind nature,” they wrote.

Ms. Plitt leaves two children, Brian Plitt, an attorney, of Washington, D.C., and Allison Basile, a professional writer and novelist, of Highlands, N.J., and a granddaughter, Charlotte Basile of Highlands. 

Visiting hours will begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, with a memorial ceremony at 2 p.m. Burial will follow at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton, at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Villages

Rector of St. Luke's Takes Key Role in Coast Guard Chaplain Program

The Rev. Benjamin (Chaps) Shambaugh, who serves in the Coast Guard’s Auxiliary Chaplain Support program, became the branch chief of the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area East on Jan. 1. In that role, he will oversee chaplains who care for Coast Guard members and their families from Canada to the Caribbean and in Europe and other areas abroad. 

Jan 10, 2025

Deep History in Sag Harbor Headstones’ Restoration

While Captain Beebee’s headstone now sits pristine atop the hill next to the Old Whalers Church, the rest of the family’s six plots sit in disrepair. Recently, however, the museum received a $10,000 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, which will allow for the restoration of the remaining headstones.

Jan 9, 2025

Traffic-Calming Ideas for Wainscott

Looking ahead to the problem of summer traffic, David and Stacey Brodsky of Wainscott have a plan that they believe will alleviate the burden created by cars using some of the hamlet’s back roads to bypass Montauk Highway.

Jan 9, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.