Dianne Deming: California girl comes east

Rehoboth Beach resident Dianne Deming may be a California girl at heart but she's grown to love the Atlantic beach community that she now calls home.

“I always wanted to live at the beach. I just didn't know it would be this one,” she said. “Of all the places I've lived, this is my favorite.”

Deming and her husband, Frank, moved to Rehoboth Beach in 2003 after Frank was named minister of Westminster Presbyterian. They live in the church's modest brick manse on Norfolk Street, a short walk or bike ride to the church or other downtown locales.

A beach home in the heart of Rehoboth Beach was definitely a draw for the couple who were living in Pennsylvania before moving south, but Deming said, it was the people who won them over.

“We felt a connection right away with the congregation,” she said.

Deming, an ordained Presbyterian minister herself, gave up fulltime work with the church in 1988 when she and Frank, along with their oldest son, Scott, moved to Wilkes Barre to serve as minister for a church there with the same name as his current post – Westminster Presbyterian.

A second son, John, was born in 1991, and Deming began pursuing work that gave her the freedom to raise her boys. She wrote a series of religious books, “A time with our children: Stories for use in worship,” while working in temporary or part time jobs throughout the ministry.

Though working now as a realtor for the Debbie Reed team, Deming said she would still be open to a ministry position if the right one arose.

“At some point, I would like to go back into the ministry,” she said.

It's a passion she discovered midway through her college years.

Growing up in California, Deming's early life sounds like it had the makings of a Hollywood star. She was born in a Hollywood hospital not far from her grandmother's Beverly Hills home, but was raised in Anaheim after her father's meatpacking job landed the family there following a few midwest stints.

Tall, slender and statuesque, Deming could have found work in the prolific film and television industry that dominates the Los Angeles area close to where she grew up, but she chose college instead.

Deming entered the University of Redlands about 50 miles from Anaheim where she eventually earned a bachelor's degree in psychology.

At first, she said, she was unsure what she wanted to study. She thought she might like to be a minister or a marine biologist.

By sophomore year, Deming said, she decided to make a choice.

She took an Old Testament class and one in microbiology, which sealed her fate.

“I got an A in Old Testament and it was fun. In microbiology, I worked harder than I ever had to get a C plus … That was one sign I was destined for the ministry,” she said with a smile.

She followed up her bachelor's degree by immediately enrolling in the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Three years later she earned her Master of Divinity degree, and a husband after she met and married Frank before graduating.

The couple received calls to two small congregations in Colorado. They lived in Ft. Morgan, Colo., for seven years while Frank served as minister in an open country church of about 100 members; Deming worked as associate pastor at United Presbyterian in Ft. Morgan that had about 350 members.

The couple worked in Colorado for seven years and had their first child there before moving east.

Home by the sea

With two grown boys, Deming now has time to participate in some of her favorite activities besides taking care of her energetic Schnauzer, Merlin, and selling real estate.

She was recently named president of Delaware's P.E.O. – Philanthropic Educational Organization. The organization was formed in 1869 to support women in higher education. Today, Deming said, P.E.O. continues offering loans, grants and scholarships to woman pursuing college degrees.

She also is an original member of the Rehoboth Concert Band where she plays flute. Her affiliation with churches over the years has given her plenty of opportunities to play the instrument that she has perfected since fourth grade. The non-profit group has grown from 14 to 60 since she started three years ago.

“We play a variety of music, it's a lot of fun,” she said.

Deming said she is also gearing up for this year's Buddy Walk. She describes her role with the event as solely grunt work, although it is thoroughly fulfilling.

“It's a really cool thing right in the heart of town. The businesses are very generous and it gives families a weekend to spend together,” she said.

At 58, Deming said retirement is a few years away, but she and Frank would like to stay when they do.

“The whole coastal area has such a mix of people,” she said. “So many have lived such intersting lives.”