Swallow Hill Music is thrilled to announce the launch of the Songbird Legacy Club, a special community dedicated to recognizing and celebrating individuals who have chosen to leave a lasting legacy through thoughtful estate planning.
Imagine a ripple effect, a single act of generosity expanding outwards that touches lives for generations to come. That’s the profound power of an estate gift or bequest.
Become a founding member of the Songbird Legacy Club by notifying Swallow Hill Music of your plan to include Swallow Hill Music as a beneficiary or consider making a one-time $1,000 contribution in addition to your annual gift by December 31, 2026.
The spirit of the Songbird Legacy Club is beautifully echoed in the life of Diane Lynn Fairclough. Diane was a woman of remarkable resilience and passion who understood the enduring impact of kindness, her sister Susanne shared.
She passed away after a short illness on March 2, 2024, two weeks after returning from her yearly sojourn in Kauai, the other ‘home’ she had traveled to for 25 years.
In her professional life she was a leader in her field. She obtained master’s degrees in chemistry and public health, and a doctorate in public health from University of North Carolina, specializing in Quality of Life Studies for cancer research, becoming president of the International Society of Quality of Life (ISOQUOL).
In addition to these accomplishments, Diane’s love of music was a theme that bookended her professional life. In her high school band, she played the flute, and because they needed a bassoon player, she took up bassoon. Later, she played guitar and dulcimer. She rose to the occasion filling a vacancy as choir director for a church in Chapel Hill and then in Memphis, when she worked at St. Jude’s Hospital for Children in research.
Music dropped away as she focused on a career that broke through the glass ceiling for women in the field of biostatistics, where she made it a priority to mentor and encourage her colleagues.
That career took her to Dana Farber Cancer Research Center in Boston and then to join the faculty of the School of Public Health at the University of Colorado in Denver, where she made her home for 28 years, tending to her garden, and hiking in the mountains with her dog Sam.
During this time diagnoses of melanoma, breast cancer, and brain tumors infused her work with compassion and great strength. The University of Colorado School of Public Health has established a Lectureship in her honor.
Music returned to her life in profound ways, however, and she came to understand its transformative effects firsthand. While visiting the Hawaiian island of Kauai, she was given a ukulele following breast cancer treatments. This initiated her return to the healing power of music. The uke became her favorite instrument, accompanying her on multiple nourishing and joyful visits to the island over 25 years.
Back home in Denver, she discovered the Denver Ukulele Community and joined their Stage Crew at Uke Fests. With Brenda Sheldon, she founded the Uke Jammers, a ukulele outreach group that continues under the leadership of Cindy Nance to spread aloha and cheer at retirement homes and memory care units in the Denver area. She performed beloved songs Kokee (learned from George Kahumoku) and I Oe Io with her sister Susanne as the Aloha Sisters for the local Y Senior Talent Show, upholding the Hawaiian tradition of ‘talk story’ to keep the thread of the histories alive. Her beautiful backyard was a favorite place for the uke groups to practice in the summertime.
After her dog Sam died, she fostered numerous dogs for adoption. In her quiet way, she was an activist for those needing healing and support. When she returned home from Kauai in 2024, she took in two more dogs to foster, offering her loving and wise spirit to the very end.
Not long after her passing, her estate left Swallow Hill one of the largest bequests in the music nonprofit’s 46 year history.
Just as a songbird’s melody lingers in the air, Diane’s estate gift will resonate far beyond her lifetime, ensuring that the causes she cherished continue to flourish.
By joining the Songbird Legacy Club, you directly shape the future of the causes close to your heart, leaving a legacy of joy for the community. Learn more about the Songbird Legacy Club and explore how a bequest or beneficiary gift can create a legacy that sings for years to come.
Special thanks to Susanne Fairclough, who wrote the biographical portions of this article.