Dr. Daniel Stephen Diamond, PhD of Acton, passed away on March 19.
Born May 16, 1944, Dan was the son of Abe and Min Diamond of Springfield. He attended Springfield Technical High School, class of 1961, where he was an honor student and celebrated member of the Math Club. In 1961, Dan moved from Springfield to Cambridge to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was given the MIT Industrial Management Association Award for the best Bachelor’s Thesis submitted in the Sloan School of Management during the 1964 – 1965 academic year. He continued his education at MIT, earning a PhD from the Sloan School in 1969. Dan worked in marketing for several technology companies including IBM, Honeywell, and Harvard Software, of which he was a founder, before starting Facsimilies, Ltd. in 1984 with his former wife Joan Terrell Smith who predeceased him in September 2022.
For all his academic and professional accomplishments, the passion of Dan’s life was music, specifically percussion. This was first realized during his time in the Springfield Technical High School band, when Springfield Symphony percussionist Warren Myers praised Danny’s snare drum roll as sounding like “a bushel of apples falling down a flight of stairs.” Dan’s love of percussion led him to play in the Western Massachusetts Young People’s Symphony, the Massachusetts All-State Orchestra, in Youth Concerts at Symphony Hall with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and for four years as a member of the MIT Symphony Orchestra.
Dan’s proudest pursuit was the time he spent as a member of the Concord Band of Concord. Over a period of 50 years, Dan was the principal percussionist, a member of the board, and editor of the band newsletter. Some of his cherished memories include his persuasion of the board to end the band’s parade appearances in 1970, to allow the group to become strictly a concert band, and the introduction of a visit from Santa Claus at the band’s annual “Holiday Pops” concert, a tradition cherished by his children, grandchildren, and the greater Concord community. Dan received the band’s Lifetime Service Award in 2009 and was further honored with the commission of “The Diamond Baton,” in celebration of his vast contributions to the organization. At its debut in Spring of 2022, composer Roger Cichy described the piece of music as “part overture, part march, and definitely all tribute.”
Dan is survived by his sister Bette and her husband, Dr. Alan R. Gerstein of Longmeadow, son Dave and his wife Sherry of Amherst, NH, and his daughter, Beth of Exeter, NH. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Victoria Rogers, her husband Valentine, and their daughter, Evangeline Grace of Worcester, Zach Diamond of Exeter, NH, Michaela Diamond of Los Angeles, CA, Alex Diamond of Medford, and Katherine Diamond of Malden, as well as nephews Meir Gerstein, his wife Shimrit, and their daughter Keren of New Milford, NJ, and David Gerstein of Stratford, CT.
His sense of humor, intellect, and wisdom will be greatly missed. A memorial concert is being planned for a later date.
Services will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Concord Band, P.O. Box 302, Concord, MA 01742.Arrangements under the care of Glenn D. Burlamachi, Concord Funeral Home, A Life Celebration Home, Concord. To share a memory or offer a condolence visit: www.concordfuneral.com
