Faith, Music, Miracles and Handel’s Messiah
An inspiring story about Diane Parry, CMI Board Member, Faithful Disciple

The Parry household was alive with music. Ed was the son of a Presbyterian minister, though Ed says he tried but couldn’t sing. His mother sang in the church choir and everyone in the family knew the hymns of the church. As Ed says, “We were in church all the time.” His father was in the military so each church in the many places they lived was home to them. Diane’s mother was a church organist. Diane grew up taking piano and organ lessons, singing in choirs, and her family, like Ed’s, was always in church. Diane loved the arts, studying to be an interior designer, singing in church choirs, playing for choirs, leading Bible studies, and working with worship planning.

When Diane and Ed married and had three boys, music and church were central to their family as well. As son Phillip reports, “We were in church every Sunday.” Music was inseparable to their growth and development as persons as well as being central to their faith. Phillip credits their appreciation and involvement in music to his mom.

Phillip describes their family as a relatively emotionless family. Ed is a dermatologist and Mohs surgeon. The brothers span careers in financial services, neurosurgery, and engineering. Phillip credits the development of their emotional lives to the music pervasive in their family. Music was part of everyday life, important to them at church, and marked special occasions. He remembers hearing Handel’s Messiah every Christmas morning. Music became the emotional outlet that balanced their otherwise high energy intellectual life.

Diane’s faith and music were inseparable – deep and strong. Phillip remembers watching her stoicism as her mother died of renal failure. “Mom was a rock.” Little did anyone know what lay ahead and how Diane’s strength and that of her family would be tested.

The above conversation with Phillip and Ed took place in November 2019 while Diane was undergoing a four-hour surgery for removal of glioblastoma tumors. Two weeks prior, son David noticed something “not right about Mom” and arranged for Phillip, the neurosurgeon, to Facetime with their mother. Phillip checked off the symptom boxes immediately and ordered CT and MRI tests, read the results, made the diagnosis and scheduled surgery asap. All three boys were on planes or the road the next day to face the seriousness of Diane’s fate. Three tumors were removed from the frontal lobe where they are rarely found until the growths are advanced. Healthy Diane did beautifully in surgery, and was answering emails the same day. Two days later she was home. Three days later she was walking around and joking, when asked if Ed was responsible for slight bruising, “You should see the other guy – Ed!” Quick action bought time for Diane and her family.

Their journey continued until Diane’s death in March, 2021. To watch the family circle around Diane and each other could be understood only through the lens of faith: Early detection, thanks to David and Phillip. Deep faith nurtured by a lifetime of prayer, worship, and music, practiced individually and shared as a family. Balance of heart, head, and spirit, all needed in equal measure so everyone could pull together in the same direction to support and undergird Diane. No matter what happened next this family was emboldened by their love for God and each other, confident of a power beyond them to carry them through the hardest of times. Their faith, nurtured by music, formed a bond to each other and to God.

As a CMI board member, Diane gave selflessly to whatever CMI needed. Her conviction of the importance of CMI’s mission was unbounded. Now, the designated endowment fund, created by generosity of family and friends, means her legacy continues to shape lives of faith through music. Her glowing picture inspires us every day. Thank you, Diane. Thank you, Diane’s family and friends. Thank you, God, for the miracle of Diane, and now for those CMI serves. Hallelujah!