Diane Severin’s teaching career at Watsonville High School spanned more than five decades. She is described as a fierce advocate for equal rights and a loyal friend. She stayed deeply involved in the community throughout her life, took up skeet shooting at 60 and loved to travel the world.
She died Dec. 20. She was 92.
Born Diane Lafranchi on April 16, 1931, Severin refused to heed her father’s edict to become a secretary, instead following her own path to become a teacher, says her lifelong friend Gina Cole.
“She packed her bags, got on a bus and left,” Cole said.
She attended Hartnell, where she met her husband Doug, and the pair went on to graduate from San Jose State University in 1953 after Severin put herself through school working evenings in the Salinas city library.
Severin began working at Watsonville High School in 1955, the same year she was married, where she taught home economics.
It was there that she paved the way for boys to take classes such as sewing and cooking.
“She always felt that everyone needed to have those skills, that these were very basic skills,” Cole said.
Severin created a “Sport Scene Sewing” class in which students would make tents, ski wear and down jackets, and was one of the school’s most popular classes.
“The guys and gals alike were in that class because they wanted to have the down jackets they couldn’t afford,” said former Watsonville High School Principal Elaine Legoretta.
Severin’s food class prepared treats and meals for visiting dignitaries, the school’s football and basketball teams and a variety of committees. The class also made treats that were sold to raise money for WHS band classes.
Severin retired in 2016, but then earned a credential in special education and returned to work a couple more years, Cole said.
Legoretta said that she could count on Severin to fill in for long-term positions in any classes ranging from history to cooking to special education.
“The kids loved her, the aides loved her,” Legoretta said. “She really did good work.”
Severin also helped fundraise to purchase video equipment, for the school’s yearbook and for a new costume for Willie the Wildcat, the WHS mascot.
“She was quite the lady,” said Watsonville/Aptos/Santa Cruz Adult School Director Nancy Bilicich. “She was a very strong woman who got along with everybody.”
Severin also harnessed her love of cooking into a side business in catering, which Cole says financed her love of travel.
Her passport racked up stamps from Europe, Asia, South America, New Zealand and Australia, where she always made a point to seek out off-the-beaten path experiences that gave her insight into the places she visited, Cole said.
“What she really wanted to do is see how people lived,” she said. “She didn’t want to just be a tourist. She wanted to be immersed in a culture.”
She was also known for being very outspoken, even during eras when that was not expected of women.
During contentious meetings, Cole said, her fellow teachers would grab her by the belt loops and tell her not to stand up, not to make a scene.
“But Diane would always stand up and ask questions,” Cole said. “A lot of it was her quest for knowledge, but it was also to get her point across that ‘I’m not going to just sit down and do what you tell me to do. I’m going to ask you exactly why I need to do that, and if I don’t agree with you I’m going to let you know that.’”
Cole says that, while not an especially religious person, Severin nevertheless embodied many of the tenets of Christianity.
“She would give you the shirt off her back,” she said. “She lived by the Golden Rule. She would go to the mat for you. She would hold your hand when that had to happen, she would let you know when you blow it—but in a very kind way—and offer you suggestions on how you can be a better person.”
Severin also volunteered with several organizations, including the Pajaro Valley Historical Association board of directors, the home arts department at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds and Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes.
She was named as teacher of the year by the local Special Parents Information Network.
Severin was named as the Watsonville High School Foundation “Friend of the Wildcatz” in 2012, and as Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year in 2011.
“She was just a phenomenal human being,” Cole said. “She was someone that I’ve always looked up to and tried to model my life after.”
A service is scheduled for 11am on Jan. 11 at Ave Maria Memorial Chapel at 609 Main St. in Watsonville.
