By Rich Pollack
DELRAY BEACH — Betty Diggans cherished her Delray Beach community.
A longtime resident who was transplanted from Ohio when she was just 18, Mrs. Diggans was a well-known and cherished fixture in the city she loved for almost 80 years.
Betty Jane Diggans, an early entrepreneur, real estate agent, the wife of one of the city’s earliest postmasters and, above all else, the matriarch of a deeply rooted family, died Dec. 1. She was 97.
“My mom felt very blessed that she arrived in a town that embraced her,” said her daughter, Winnie Diggans Edwards. “She found a sense of community and a sense of family in the three generations of Digganses that became a foundation for the rest of her life.”
For more than 75 years, Mrs. Diggans was active at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, serving on the vestry, singing in the choir, hosting events, contributing to bazaars and helping publish church cookbooks and historical church family biographies.
It was there that she met the love her life, her husband, Roy Diggans.
Early on she worked at the Colony Hotel and later at Lucille and Otley’s restaurant in Boynton Beach before teaming up with her close friend Puddy Ellingsworth to open The Place, a Delray Beach staple restaurant on State Road A1A. They also formed a business that catered some of the community’s most memorable gatherings.
In the mid-1970s she acquired a real estate license and began working under the mentorship of Eleanor Gringle at Gringle Doherty & Wheat.
“What I remember about my mom’s real estate days is that she always went the extra mile and her clients remained her friends for many years,” Diggans Edwards said.
Her commitment to community extended throughout Delray Beach: She volunteered with the Chamber of Commerce, the Delray Affair, the Community Chest, the Atlantic Avenue Merchants Association and the Delray Beach Historical Society.
She also served as president of the association at her condo and was a member of the Beach Property Owners Association.
When not dedicating time to her community work, Mrs. Diggans found refuge and inspiration in a variety of avocations. An avid reader from a young age, she loved reading and listening to compelling novels, biographies and books about history and art.
Mrs. Diggans also found joy in oil painting and loved gardening as well as cooking and baking. She studied photography, mastered crossword puzzles, and delighted in travel.
Through visits with her children, she explored the Texas Hill Country, the coastal towns of Maine, sailing the Chesapeake Bay, hiking in Northern California and Colorado, and the vibrant cultures of New York and New Orleans.
“My mother lived her life with curiosity and an open heart,” said Diggans Edwards. “Her legacy of kindness, generosity and resilience will continue to inspire her family and the Delray Beach community she cherished.”
Mrs. Diggans’ greatest joy was watching the stories of the lives of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and extended family unfold. Through visits, videos, letters, artwork and phone calls, she remained a steady source of wisdom, encouragement and love until the end.
Mrs. Diggans was preceded in death by her husband, Roy, who died in 2001. She is survived by her children Kathleen Fields (John), Charles Emory Diggans (Lauren) and Winifred Diggans Edwards; her grandchildren Susan, John William, James (Van), Bradley (Jennifer), and Tyler (Elizabeth); and her great-grandchildren Atticus, Declan, June and Benjamin.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Mrs. Diggans’ memory to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach and the Delray Beach Historical Society.
A celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 31 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., followed by a reception in the historic parish hall.
Comments