Diane S. Nagorka, longtime spiritual counselor
Diane S. Nagorka passed away Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Aug. 22, 1924, to Aaron Suchoff and Sadie Lieschin Suchoff.
Rev. Diane was the youngest of three children, attended public schools in Brooklyn, and then went on to the Juilliard School of Music, where in 1946 she met and married Henry J. Nagorka, a WWII war hero. Henry became a cultural attaché with the State Department, and together they began a life of travel and adventure in Germany, Turkey, and Romania. Upon returning to the States, they settled in Northern Virginia and then Washington, D.C., where Diane became a private music teacher to elementary students, and gave private lessons in voice and piano. In 1967, Diane and Henry were ordained, and in 1968, she and Rev. Henry founded the National Spiritual Science Center in Washington, D.C. In 1980, she was awarded a Ph.D. degree in philosophy, and in 1983 her book, “Spirit as Life Force: The Causality of Change,” was published. From the 1960s through the 1980s, Rev. Diane was a major figure in the New Age movement in the U.S., and was a spiritual counselor for more than 50 years, serving many clients locally, nationally, and internationally.
In 1996, she and her friend, Sandy Lehman, moved to Bethany Beach, where they founded the Atlantic Spiritual Science Center and the online weekly Museletter. She was on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and provided numerous educational lectures about the symphony programs, and was also active in the Rehoboth Beach Rotary for many years. A power for good in the community, Rev. Diane’s work uplifted and encouraged countless people. She believed in “The greatest good for the greatest number,” and “What you sow you shall reap.”
Rev. Diane is survived by her five children, Marya (Terri), Andrey, Teresa, Stefanie and Eva; 11 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and Sandy Lehman.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Humane Society, ASPCA, and Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra Inc.
A Celebration of Life at Arlington National Cemetery will be announced at a later date.
