IN MEMORIAM: Diane Corlett ’86

Diane Corlett and her husband Fred died of the coronavirus within days of eachother.

The Rev. Diane Bishop Corlett, Class of 1986, died on Sunday, January 10, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina at the age of 70. Corlett contracted coronavirus while recovering in a local hospital from an unrelated infection, her son said in a local news report. Sadly, her husband Fred Corlett, always by her side, also caught the virus and died four days later.

One of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of North Carolina, Corlett was the former (and the first) rector of Church of the Nativity in Raleigh. She was a leader in the Diocese of North Carolina's deaf ministry and a passionate activist against the death penalty in North Carolina. Corlett was also an active supporter of the music and arts community in Raleigh and Fred Corlett was a familiar face for decades in local theater. She touched the lives of many, as priest, mentor, and counselor.

David Corlett said his parents will be cremated and their ashes placed together at the Church of the Nativity in Raleigh.

The Church of the Nativity held a service for Diane online which can be viewed on their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/116460378437486/videos/3257454701023284