Diane T. Neicheril

Former educator and activist Diane Neicheril passed away peacefully on June 21 at 82.

Diane leaves two daughters, Nancy Jean (Mark) Salerno, Salem, and Julia Diane (Steven) Lehner, Sussex, and six grandchildren: Nicholas, Maria, Victoria, Alex Salerno, and Matthew and Marisa Lehner.

Born Diane Therese Kaberna in Chicago, Illinois, she later moved to Elm Grove, Wisconsin. She attended Divine Savior High School and Marquette, where she met her former husband, James Neicheril. She put her degree on hold to start her family and returned when her daughters started school to complete her bachelor’s degree in education at UWM. She later earned her master’s at Cardinal Stritch College.

Diane and James bought a house in Sherman Park. They became active members of the Sherman Park Community Association, fighting against freeway expansion and redlining and advocating for the removal of lead paint in neighborhood homes. She lived in Sherman Park for half of her life.

Diane began teaching Special Education at Siefert Elementary School, working with poor and underserved children, which ignited her passion for educational equality and civil rights. Her commitment to her students was unwavering, and she spent her career fighting tirelessly against the inequities of a system that often undervalues the children living in areas of poverty and crime.

She taught Special Education at Sherman School, blocks from her home, for 15 years and then moved to Lee Elementary as vice principal. In 1985, she became principal at Clarke Street Elementary, a school with failing test scores situated in a neighborhood beset with gang activity, poverty, and high turnover. Despite these challenges, Diane remained steadfast in her mission.

Armed with her conviction that all children can and deserve to learn and thrive, she went to work. With a cadre of committed teachers, social workers, and support staff, Diane and Clarke Street School made headlines by achieving, then surpassing, the national averages for reading and mathematics assessments. In 1993, Clarke won the US Department of Education Chapter 1 National Recognition Award (one of 50 nationwide) presented to Diane in the White House Rose Garden by President Bill Clinton.

Partnerships with area leaders and businesses, including GE, Master Lock, Next Door, and the late Elmer Winter, brought donations of generous funds, materials, and enthusiastic volunteers to establish extra science, reading, and math programs. Dedicated teachers and staff wrote and won grants, including one from the Metropolitan Opera Company for students to write, compose, and produce short operas created over several years and performed for many schools. Clarke also won a Safe Haven grant, providing after-school classes in computers, finance, nutrition, and the arts for students and their parents.

Diane retired in 1999 to care for aging parents and to spend more time with her family. President Bill Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley sent personal tributes. Congressman Tom Barrett spoke to the House of Representatives: “…today I would like to acknowledge and commend Diane Neicheril, known in our community as the ‘‘woman on a mission.’’ For 14 years Ms. Neicheril’s mission has been serving as the principal of the Clarke Street School in Milwaukee, setting high expectations of her students and teachers, and holding even higher standards for herself…” thus entering her achievements into the Congressional Record.

In retirement, Diane remained active in education. She volunteered with the St. Vincent de Paul Society at her parish, St. Catherine’s, in Milwaukee. Diane was an accomplished pianist who enjoyed attending the symphony and opera, as well as her grandchildren’s many recitals. She played bridge, belonged to a book club, and loved to travel. But her main interest was spending time with her daughters and grandchildren. She served others her entire life.

Diane is further survived by loving sisters Jeanne (Paul) Troglia and Nancy (Daniel) Kaye, nephews Peter Troglia and Charlie Kaye, and extended family and friends. Her parents, Charles and Loretta Kaberna, preceded her in death.