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Diana Washington

Diana Washington was a Black American West Baltimore mother, basketball player, and member of the Russell and Washington families. She was the wife of Marcus Levi Washington II, the mother of Marcus Levi Washington III, and the older sister of Levi Christopher Russell. Diana coached her son in basketball and attended his games until triple-negative breast cancer caused her death in 2010 at approximately forty-three.

Early Life and Background

Diana Rochelle Russell was born in Baltimore in February 1967 to Rochelle and Chris Russell. Her maternal grandparents, Teddy and Evie, were closely involved in the family.

Her brother, Levi, was born on November 23, 1974, after contracting neonatal Group B streptococcal meningitis. The infection caused significant brain damage, limited motor function, and complex lifelong support needs. Rochelle rejected a recommendation to institutionalize him, and Levi was raised at home with support from the extended family.

Diana learned Levi’s communication through his words, sounds, expressions, and behavior. She was protective of him and remained closely involved in his care. Levi loved bright flowers and butterflies and spent time in Teddy’s garden.

Levi died around 1992 at approximately eighteen. Chris died around 1993 from an overdose of prescription pain medication. Rochelle later died from an unspecified cancer in the mid-to-late 1990s. Teddy and Evie remained part of Diana’s life and later knew her son.

Education and Basketball

Diana attended high school in West Baltimore from 1981 through 1985. She was a talented point guard with strong court vision and an analytical understanding of the game. Her school offered limited support and recruiting opportunities for girls’ basketball, and her playing career did not lead to a college program.

Diana continued playing basketball recreationally as an adult. After Marcus III began playing, she coached him in the driveway, taught him to read the full court, and gave him her number, twenty-three. She attended his organized games from the third row at center court and was known for cheering loudly.

Personality and Communication

Diana was loud, warm, expressive, and socially inclusive. She readily drew strangers into conversation and noticed when someone had been left at the edge of a group. She was also stubborn, opinionated, competitive, and willing to argue with coaches or referees.

Her communication with family was direct and affectionate. She was attentive to people whose expressive communication differed from her own, a skill shaped by her relationship with Levi and later present in her bond with Marcus Washington I.

Cultural Identity and Personal Style

Diana was Black American and rooted in West Baltimore. Her adult life connected the Russell family that raised her with the Washington family she joined through marriage.

Purple was strongly associated with Diana. She wore it to basketball games and incorporated it throughout her clothing and accessories. The color later became part of how her family recognized and remembered her.

Illness and Death

Diana was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2010. She continued attending Marcus III’s games during treatment until she no longer had the physical capacity to do so.

Diana died later that year at approximately forty-three, with Marcus II beside her. Marcus III was thirteen. Her death left Marcus II in severe grief and placed much of their son’s daily care with Denise and Marcus Washington I.

Family and Core Relationships

Levi Christopher Russell

Main article: Diana Washington and Levi Russell

Levi was born when Diana was seven. She became one of his interpreters, advocates, and sources of companionship. After his death, she preserved his memory through stories, photographs, her son’s middle name, and the garden later established at the Washington home.

Marcus Washington II

Main article: Marcus Washington II and Diana Washington

Diana met Marcus at a cookout in late 1987, when she was twenty, Marcus was twenty-one, and Levi was thirteen. Their contrasting temperaments became a stable part of the relationship: Diana was expansive and outspoken, while Marcus was quiet and reserved. After they married, Diana joined Marcus in the Washington family home, where he had always lived.

Marcus remained beside Diana through her cancer and was present when she died. His grief afterward contributed to alcohol misuse and impaired parenting.

Marcus Washington III

Main article: Diana Washington and Marcus Washington III

Marcus Levi Washington III was born on January 21, 1997, when Diana was twenty-nine. His middle name honored Levi. Diana coached Marcus in basketball, taught him court vision, and attended his games from the same center-court seat. Marcus wore her number, twenty-three, and inherited her loud, socially inclusive manner.

Denise Washington and Marcus Washington I

Main article: Denise Washington and Diana Washington

Main article: Marcus Washington I and Diana Washington

Denise regarded Diana as her daughter rather than qualifying the relationship as one of marriage. Diana called Denise Mama, and Denise called her baby girl.

Diana called Marcus I Daddy. She learned to understand his quiet vocalizations and gestures, and he accepted her as the daughter he had not had by birth.

Legacy and Memory

After Diana’s death, her center-court seat remained unused by the family. At the December 2014 UMD scout game, Keisha Clark unknowingly sat there while wearing a purple coat. Denise welcomed her and told her not to move after the seat’s history was explained.

Levi’s garden also became a place where the Washington family remembered Diana. Purple flowers were added after her death, and Marcus III later helped maintain the garden.

Memorable Quotes

“You gotta see the whole court, baby. Not just your man. The whole thing. That’s what makes you dangerous.”

(Source: Diana Washington and Marcus Washington III; Diana teaching Marcus III to read the court)

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