Diane F Igleheart

Diane Foster Igleheart, champion of education, environmentalist and descendant of one of Evansville’s early families, died November 13, 2021 in Evansville. She was affectionately known to many as The General, for good reason. She was 94.

In her long career as a civic leader, she helped found the Evansville Day School, the only surviving independent school in the city; led the transformation of Willard Library into one of the state’s premiere centers of genealogical and historical research; and chaired the board of the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy for three years.

Her skills as a fundraiser, networker and steward of institutions were also called upon at the regional and national levels, as a board member of Auburn Theological Seminary and co-chair of the Midwest Region of the Campaign for Conservation for The Nature Conservancy, which awarded her its highest honor, the Oak Leaf Award.

Diane Foster was born on January 29, 1927 in Evansville to Leroy Swormstedt and Martha Brandon Foster. She graduated from Bosse High School and attended Smith College and the University of Virginia. (Upon leaving college for marriage, she declared that she would one day finish her bachelor's degree, which she did, at the University of Evansville in 1967.)

On June 28, 1946, she married James Bridwell Igleheart, the son of her father’s best friend.

They spent their first year of married life in Charlottesville, VA, attending the University of Virginia and forging a fast friendship with the Van Clief, Wilson/Dow and Wilhelm families that formed the foundation of a multigenerational “Van Wildheart” clan that lasts to this day.

In 1948, the couple returned to their native Evansville, where he worked for International Steel Company until retiring as chairman in 1992. They raised their four children at Blackberry Hollow, the home they built in McCutchanville next to where she had grown up.

In 1951, she joined the board of the nursery school at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She helped raise $12,000 to buy a house on First Street they called the Little Red School House in 1952. The school added kindergarten—then not offered beyond the city limits--and changed its name to Evansville Preschool.

Following the donation of the Igleheart property at 800 Sunset Avenue to the school, the school expanded to include primary education and was reincorporated as the Evansville Day School.

As the growing school needed more space, she co-chaired the fund drive and the building committee for the school’s current home on its 40-acre campus on Green River Road, and in 1968 she was on hand for the groundbreaking. The following year, she and her husband commissioned the EDS sculpture by artist John Matt that still stands in front of the school.

She remained an active trustee in the ensuing decades, serving on the search committee for six headmasters, chairing the major gifts committee of the drive to build the upper school, and chairing the endowment committee. As part of this work, she pioneered the practice of planned giving, both at the school and in the wider community. When, in recent years, the school began to divide students into four houses, one of them was named Igleheart.

She gave her time and talent to her community in myriad other ways as well. She served as a trustee of Family and Children’s Services, the YWCA, and the Preservation Alliance of Evansville, and served on numerous committees of United Way of Evansville and Junior League of Evansville. She worked on the fund drive to build the current home of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science.

In 1968, she joined the board of Willard Library, a privately endowed public library, and soon led what one library executive dubbed a “renaissance” through her activism. She pushed for the 1877 Victorian Gothic building to be put on the National Register of Historic Places and formed the Friends of Willard Library organization to raise awareness and funds. In 1974, the first of her dozen years as the president of the library’s board of trustees, she led a re-envisioning of Willard’s mission that resulted in the establishment of a center for genealogical and local history archives within the library. She also oversaw the first real fund drive and major improvements to the century-old building and surrounding park. During her tenure, books about sex were brought out of a closed room and placed on the shelves with the rest of the collection.

At the state level, she served as vice chairman of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ State Review Board on Historic Preservation for nearly a decade. She joined the board of the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy in 1989 and went on to chair the chapter from 1995 to 1998. During her tenure, TNC began the restoration of 7,200 acres of the Kankakee Sands in northwestern Indiana.

She was an elder and trustee of First Presbyterian Church, where both her family and many in her husband’s family had worshipped for generations. She served on the building and planning committee that renovated the historic building and built the current Sunday School building in the 1960s, chaired multiple fund drives, chaired the long-range planning, finance, deferred giving and administration committees and chaired the board of trustees.

She is survived by three daughters, Belle “Jingle” Igleheart Hagey (Chandler) of Evansville, Lowry Igleheart-Keach (Houston) of Henderson, KY, and Wendy Igleheart Walker (Ronalds) of Indianapolis, IN; a son, J. Bridwell Igleheart, Jr. (Brett Cobb) of Evansville; and a foster son, Martin “Chip” Ryan (Barbara) of Reston, VA.

She has nine grandchildren, who call her “Manu”: Keach Hagey Harris (Wesley) of Irvington, NY, G. Foster Hagey (Stephanie) of Milwaukee, WI, Lindsay Keach Bronstein (Steve) of Arlington, MA, Lucien Keach (Tanya Corman) of Philadelphia, PA, Ryan B. Igleheart (Carmen) of Nashville, TN, Austin S. Igleheart IV (Erin) of Atlanta, GA, R. Philbrick Walker of Louisville, KY, Kelly Ryan Rizzo (John) of Fort Mill, SC, and Martin J. “Jake” Ryan (Emily) of Washington, DC.

She has 11 great-grandchildren: Belle Alice Harris, Julia Diane “June” Harris, Eleanor Pearl Harris, Graham James Hagey, Arlo Barton Bronstein, Wolfe Bridwell Igleheart, Linden Rae Igleheart, James Patrick Igleheart, Charles Tate Igleheart, Ryan Martin Rizzo, and Maisie Anderson Ryan.

Burial in the family cemetery will be private. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation from 9:30 a.m. until service time at First Presbyterian Church in Evansville. A live-stream of the memorial service will be viewable at www.firstpresevansville.com. Arrangements are being handled by Alexander Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to one of these organizations that she worked so hard for: Evansville Day School, 3400 N Green River Rd., Evansville, IN 47715; First Presbyterian Church, 609 SE Second St., Evansville, IN 47713; The Nature Conservancy Indiana Chapter 620 E Ohio St Indianapolis, IN 46202; Willard Library, 21 First Ave., Evansville, IN 47710.