Diane deFord ‘65
deFord’s father Benton F. Eichorn
Diane deFord was only 4 months old when her father Benton F. Eichorn, a World War II pilot, was shot down over Vernio, Italy in June 1944; six of seven aboard their B-25 bomber perished, including Eichorn.
In the winter of 2013, the pilot’s “dog tag” (military ID) was found in the woods, setting deFord’s daughter Holly Mead on a quest over a period of months to learn more about her grandfather and his crew members—and ultimately connect with surviving family of the crew—by scouring the web and digging into declassified war reports and historical archives.
Mead first got the tip about her grandfather from a museum curator in Tuscany, Italy, who had been researching the crash but had only ever found assorted parts from the plane. The curator contacted Mead informing her that a hunter had come to the museum with a dog tag he found bearing the name of Eichorn—a tag, it was later learned, that had survived not just the plane crashing to the ground, but also four bombs that exploded upon impact. The tag’s discovery ultimately led to the Italian research team’s publication of a book about the B-25 bomber and its crew and mission. This led to a museum exhibition and permanent monument that was erected in 2014, with Mead and deFord flying into Tuscany as special guests.
Before passing away peacefully in March after a brief illness, deFord herself lived a rich and full life up and through her 80th birthday this January. A passionate educator, she worked as an elementary school teacher in multiple locations across five decades, from her Pomona graduation in 1965 to her retirement in 2015. She mostly taught second grade, and lived much of her life in Northern California, including Dillon Beach, Sonoma, Vacaville and Rohnert Park. Born in Pomona, deFord also taught in Claremont, Brea and Mission Viejo.
An avid traveler and nature-seeker, in her 20s she traversed Mexico in a Volkswagen bus, and hiked the whole south rim of the Grand Canyon in a day. Through her 60s and 70s she also would often head out alone on weekslong road trips to her favorite places, tent camping solo.
Mead described deFord as a “caring mother, loving grandmother, teacher and adventurer … someone who was dependable, kind, independent and always young at heart.”
She is survived by her daughter, her son Ryan deFord, three grandchildren and brother Steve Schoenig and sister Linda Howell.