Diane Maxwell is a leader in the Gladstone Park Church. She joined the Park Church in 1949, making her the longest continuous member. She was recently asked to serve on the 100th birthday anniversary committee. "I'll be happy to serve in whatever capacity," she says. Besides church, she is a leader in the community and has organized the greeters for the annual "Follow the Star" outreach held every December. She has had many outstanding experiences with visitors—some of whom came to their first Adventist meeting. One visitor remarked, "Everything was so organized. I was met at the door by friendly people and ushered into the waiting room awaiting my Bethlehem tour."
She has also been a leader when she and her husband, Duane, of 54 years, have gone on Maranatha trips to help build churches and schools. "I usually end up in charge of people doing various jobs," she says. They have participated on these projects in Venezuela, Norway, Peru, Ecuador and Chile.
How does she do it all? When asked, she said she thought of her mother, who just celebrated her 100th birthday. She also attributes her ability to help in many ways to an activity she began in the last few years—walking some six to eight miles a day. When her daughters saw her interest, they encouraged her to train for running marathons. Her daughter Susan took up the challenge, and she and Maxwell walked and jogged around Lake Oswego. Maxwell did run four marathons—three in Portland and one in San Franscisco, placing second in her age-group each time. "Living with a born leader," her husand says, "has been an inspiration to me and gotten me to join her runs for the last six miles."
Diane Maxwell and Susan Maxwell Jones, her daughter, celebrate the finish of a marathon in 2006.
Pictured here, a Maranatha Church building project in Chile, February 2008.
Three generations participated in the San Francisco Marathon. From left: Jennifer Water (granddaughter), Susan Maxwell Jones (daughter), Dephena Glass Maxwell (daughter-in-law), Tami Maxwell Gadd (daughter), Diane Maxwell (mother), Debbie Maxwell Ware (daughter).
