Andrew J Billiot
August 16, 2022
Julia Marie Barrilleaux
August 16, 2022
April 21, 1944 – August 6, 2022
“Sundram” Dianne Lynn Damon died on August 6, 2022, but her exuberant love and mischievous spirit will live on. She is remembered as loving and generous, with a calm presence and a quirky sense of humor.
Dianne was born on April 21,1944, in Seattle, Washington, the first of Lorraine Mae Foss’s five children. Dianne lived with her maternal grandparents, Herbert and Ethel Foss, and saw her siblings often while they were all growing up on Queen Anne Hill.
In 1962, Dianne graduated from Queen Anne High School. She was a lifelong reader and learner. She found wisdom and transcendence in the writings and teachings of Osho; as a sannyasin, she took the name “Sundram” and traveled to India to study meditation. Later in life, Osho’s teachings continued to be a comfort to Sundram in enduring the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and those teachings supported her innately kind, open, and generous nature.
Sundram owned and ran a shop in the Pike Place Market in Seattle where she made custom scents for shampoos, soaps, and lotions (the shop was first called “Appleby Fair,” then, “Sundram’s”). She befriended market denizens like veteran Windy and Edith, a homeless woman who collected quarters for Sundram’s daughter, Priya. Priya wandered the market, watched over by many vendors and friends.
Sundram didn’t plan far in advance, but followed her heart and “hopped from lily pad to lily pad.” Among the jobs Sundram had were veterinary assistant, performing artist (fired when her unionizing efforts were blocked), massage therapist, caretaker, innovative urban farmer. She became a proud driver at the age of 45. Sundram’s final employment was as a courier, with Leela the pug riding constant shotgun in her ancient Volvo station wagon.
She loved animals and nurtured many pets over the years, including (but not limited to) four tortoiseshell cats and two pugs. She blessed them with long and lavish lives. Like her astrological sign, the bull, Sundram was loyal, and she could be incredibly stubborn.
In 2016, Sundram left her lifelong home of Seattle to move in with her daughter and son-in-law in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She took to her adopted home with enthusiasm and was often seen dancing with her cane at the local Cajun Music jam.
She was an irrepressible person who thoroughly enjoyed music, dancing, foreign films, vibrant and unique clothing, and food, all in the company of good friends.
A spiritual seeker for most of her adult life, Sundram faced death intimately at age 13 when her mother died. As an adult, she witnessed her friend Gene Kostakis pass from this life. Sundram believed in the soul and that life does not end with the death of the body.
Sundram was preceded in death by her mother, Lorraine Mae Dainard; grandparents Ethel and R. Herbert Foss; brother Chuck H. Dainard; Charles W. Damon; and family friend Eugene G. Kostakis.
Sundram is survived by her daughter, “Priya” Ghillian S. Keefe and son-in-law Matthew T. Swihart; sisters Elizabeth A. Gregoire and Pamela K. Flaman; brother Samuel J. Dainard; co-parent Daniel R. Keefe; and longtime friend, Donald R. Mueller.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent in her name to the non-profit organization Free Tibet or to The Humane Society of Washington or Louisiana.
There will be a celebration of life in Thibodaux, Louisiana and Seattle, Washington. Details to be announced later.
