Diana Sue (Sullivan) Brewer, 83, died on July 4, 2025, just 49 days after the passing of her beloved husband of 53 years, Larry Brewer. Diana’s obituary here.

I had a special connection with Larry and Diana – I fixed them up on a blind date over Thanksgiving weekend in 1960. Diana was my friend from high school and Larry was my Sigma Nu fraternity brother. After Larry died on May 16, I wrote a tribute celebrating the decades-long friendship my wife Rita Leifhelm and I shared with Larry and Diana (click here).

Before Larry and Rita: This post relates back to the days before Diana knew Larry and before I knew Rita. When Diana and I were teenagers enjoying high school and the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll.

The Jones and Sullivan Families: I grew up in the Maywood neighborhood of Independence, just up the street from Curt’s Market on Truman Road. Curt’s was operated by Curt and Hazel Jones, and they bought the house across the street to also become our neighbors.

Curt Jones’ sister, Mary Sullivan, worked as a cashier at Curt’s. Mary and her husband Herb’s daughter Diana would often be across the street at the Jones home while Mary was working at the store. We frequently talked, and a major topic became what to expect upon entering junior high school in the fall of 1954. Although we attended different grade schools, we both would be going to Northeast Junior for the 8^th grade.

Before I get to the high school stories, I have a shoutout for the “Jones and Sullivan Employment Agency.” When I was about 12, I was mowing lawns to make spending money. My first and only “commercial” client was Curt’s dad (and Diana’s grandfather), Pop Jones, who hired me to cut grass at his rental properties. In my sophomore year in high school, I started working as a stockboy and sacker at Curt’s (initially, at 80 cents per hour). I worked at Curt’s all through high school and the summer after my first year in college. The next summer, Herb and Mary Sullivan recommended me to their friend, bricklayer Elmer Cunningham. I became Elmer’s hod-carrier for the summer, the hardest job I ever had (but the good pay was appreciated).

I was in the Sullivan home so much during high school, plus working at Curt’s with Mary, that Herb and Mary felt like an extra set of parents to me. And Diana was my sister.

Lonnie’s (and Diana’s) Jukebox: This is not the first time I have written about our high school years. In 2009, for our 50^th high school class reunion, I wrote a piece titled “Lonnie’s Jukebox,” a memoir of those years told via rock ‘n’ roll records. I acknowledged in the piece the help I received in putting it together: “Several classmates provided source material (Bill Lochman had amazing recall), and Diana and Shirley were helpful editors through many drafts.”  More about Bill and Shirley below.

The original Lonnie’s Jukebox (available here) did not link to the records on the internet. I’ve since learned how to do that, and the songs in bold below can be played by clicking on the links.

Every adolescent generation fondly remembers its own popular music, but we were uniquely blessed because our teenage years coincided with the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. And Diana and I were ready to listen and dance to the new sounds.

Northeast Junior – 8^th Grade (1954-1955): Serendipity. Di and I were scheduled into the same math and the multi-hour common learning classes, almost half the school day. A welcome bonus was that her best friend Shirley Maycock was also in those classes (Shirley started with Diana in kindergarten and they also went on to be roommates in college).

 So, Diana and I were together a lot in and out of school. And we would be for all our high school years. We never dated, but we repeatedly gave ideas to each other for dates. My first date was with Shirley. Di dated Jay DeSimone, the kid who cut school with me in April of 1955 to see the first A’s game. This fix-up process concluded in 1960 with two blind dates on the same night: My matchup of her and Larry,  and her introducing me to her college classmate Sharon who became my first wife.

One of the rites of passage was Teen Town, a parent-chaperoned dance party held on Saturday nights in the gym of my old grade school (Bristol). There was one big glitch. Diana had a December birthday and was incensed that her mother would not let her attend Teen Town with the other 8th-graders until she turned 13.

Rock ‘n’ roll was on the horizon, although we did not know it at the time. Much of the new genre was based on rhythm and blues, but R&B music rarely reached the playlist at Teen Town. The formal dances still had big bands that played Glenn Miller style tunes. But the radio brought some of the new sounds and Teen Town slowly evolved to join the party.

“Shake, Rattle and Roll” by Bill Haley and the Comets. A white band’s cover of Joe Turner’s #1 R&B hit.

“Earth Angel” by the Penguins. This doo-wop ballad crossed over from R&B to be a top 10 hit on Billboard’s national pop chart.

“Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets. This was released in 1954 but did not become a hit until the spring of 1955 when it was featured in the movie Blackboard Jungle.

Van Horn – Freshman Year (1955-1956): In the fall of 1955, the new Van Horn High School opened, and we could now walk to school rather than taking a 30-minute bus ride. Teen Town moved from Bristol to the gym at Van Horn.

Just before school opened, Diana and I were both in the newspaper. She was in the Kansas City Star twice – the original in September of 1955 and the 40-year ago column in 1995.

I made the cover of the Pictorial Shopper, pretending to read a book at the new school’s library.

Starting in the summer of 1955 and carrying over into 1956, some of the early giants of rock ‘n’ roll hit the playlists on radio and at Teen Town.

“Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino.

“Maybellene” by Chuck Berry.

“Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard.

Diana and I and our friends were in full rock ‘n’ roll mode, buying records and listening to the radio. The top 40 format was pioneered by Todd Storz who owned several stations, including WHB in Kansas City. But the early WHB playlists did not include the likes of Fats, Chuck and Little Richard. Instead, WHB played covers by white artists, such as Pat Boone, so we switched our dials to KUDL to hear the exciting new artists. WHB ultimately followed.

Van Horn – Sophomore Year (1956-1957): Photos from our sophomore yearbook (The Falcon)…

 

 Diana and Shirley in the Kappa Literary Society group photo.

 

 “Party Doll” by Buddy Knox. I always associate this song with Shirley. We loved to dance to it at Teen Town. At a class reunion many years later, a deejay played the record, and I heard Shirley from across the room saying we needed to dance. We of course did.

“Searchin’” by the Coasters. Their first of many hits.

“Bye Bye Love” by the Everly Brothers. Their first of many hits.

 Van Horn – Junior Year (1957-1958): Diana and Shirley campaigned for Kearney Pixler for Mayor of Van Horn Teen Town. Kearney won, and Diana and Shirley became members of his Teen Town Council. Another member was their friend Bob Dickeson who reports that the three of them had the best job as members of the Council – selecting records every Saturday morning that they thought their classmates would like that night.

We got a televised version of Teen Town when Dick Clark’s local Philadelphia show went national to become American Bandstand. There was also a local Kansas City version that rotated among the area high schools, and so we ended up on TV (even our parents watched that).

“Diana” by Paul Anka. As we returned to school in September, this song peaked at #1. Nice touch for my friend Diana starting her junior year.

“That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Buddy was probably the hottest new artist when his debut hit went to #1. Years later for a Van Horn reunion booklet, we were asked to name our favorite song. Diana answered, “Anything by Buddy Holly.”

 

 “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley. Seven weeks at #1.

In the junior yearbook, the best friends are again together in a group photo (and Diana is using “Dyy” to identify herself). This photo was of the Sea Maids, a school organization for perfecting swimming skills. I don’t know how it worked out for Diana, but her daughter and son (Jenni and Tom) were successful competitive swimmers in high school, and Jenni went to college on a swimming scholarship at William Woods University. Tom also did good – he went to West Point.

Shirley and Di were active in Thespians, the school drama club, where Bill Lochman played major roles in school plays. Below, Bill “proposing” to Shirley in a Thespian assembly.

 

In April, Bill became a hot topic at school after he drove his mother’s Plymouth into a tree, causing serious injuries. After almost 70 years, we classmates still remember the name of the song Bill said he was listening to when he hit the tree. “Lollipop” by the Chordettes.

I got my own car, and Bill Lochman and Jim Graham lured me into their hot rod club, the “Draggin’ Diplomats.” This meant lots of cruising of the drive-ins and listening to rock ‘n’ roll on the car radio. Diana was often a passenger in this important endeavor. Bill and Jim became our lifelong friends.

Van Horn – Senior Year (1958-1959): Our school colors were red and gray. But the yearbook for our senior year was green. I forget why.

Diana still using Dyy when signing pics in the yearbook.

 

 Lonnie sporting a flattop.

 The dynamic duo of Diana and Shirley continued to excel by becoming two of the seven varsity cheerleaders. My “varsity” letter came from being the manager of the basketball team.

 

 “Sixteen Candles” by the Crests. This was a good belly-rubber song at Teen Town. The song had an encore as “Fifty Candles” at my 50^th birthday party when Diana, Bill, Jim and other Van Horn ’59 graduates serenaded me with hilarious revised lyrics. They also wore fake campaign shirts with my yearbook photo and promoting VOTE LONNIE TEEN TOWN MAYOR. Bill (below) and Diana were roasters at the event.

The big dance craze was the “West Coast,” and Diana and I were in sync with the shuffle beat that was best for the dance steps. Over the years, on cruise ships and fifties parties or wherever we heard that beat, we got up and did the West Coast. I have proof (from 2006)…

Two of the best West Coast songs in our senior year…

“So Fine” by the Fiestas.

“Kansas City” by Wilbert Harrison.

Over the summer after graduation, dancing to rock ‘n’ roll continued at the Promenade Ballroom, the Coke Bar and Barry’s Barn. Cruising in our cars while listening to the radio was a nightly thing. We were American Graffiti before the movie in 1973.

And then we went off to college.

Van Horn Reunions: Diana and I hit most of the class reunions. Here we are in a clip from the group photo at our 30^th reunion in 1989.

At a multi-class reunion in 2006. The usual suspects: Lonnie, Shirley and Diana.

For that 2006 reunion, Rita and I hosted a pre-reunion gathering for part of the ’59 crew. In the back row, Bill Lochman is second from the right, and Jim Graham is third from the left (Jim is wearing the VOTE LONNIE TEEN TOWN MAYOR shirt from my 50^th birthday party in 1991). Just like in the yearbooks, Diana and Shirley are in proximity, Di at the right on the bottom row and Shirley just behind her.

Diana and Rita – My Two Favorite Women: Diana and I always kept in touch and saw each other from time to time after college. But our lives were on different paths. In the 1960s, she was single, and I was married with young kids. In the 1970s, I was single, and she was married with young kids.

Rita was not part of our teenage years – she’s eight years younger. And when I married Rita in 1981, Di and Larry were living in New York. When they moved back in 1984, there was a learning curve that was quickly satisfied. Rita and DI got along famously and became the best of friends. I’ll let the photos tell the story.

We will miss you, Diana.