In Armenia, Darge will train English teachers. She's been a teacher most of her life, so that shouldn't be a problem. Her daughters, Deborah and Becky, say she was called to teach much the way their father, a retired Lutheran pastor, was called to preach. Diana Darge was 7 and living in Michigan when she decided she wanted to be a teacher. Her grandmother gave her a small desk and a chalkboard. "I'd line the neighborhood kids up and make them sit through my lesson," she said. "I love to teach, and my work at the Art Center the past six years has been fulfilling, but I felt something was missing in my life." A lot of us have the same feeling, at least occasionally, but we don't sign up for two years in a landlocked former Soviet satellite in the Southern Caucasus - even if Noah's ark did come to rest there when the rain stopped. Darge isn't like a lot of us, though. If teaching isn't her only reason for being, it's one of them. What better time than now, she'll tell you, to help "promote peace through education."
Diana Darge, 75, of West Des Moines is not long for Iowa - she is about to join about 100 other Iowans in the Peace Corps
Hansen: Teacher 'in my 70s' all set for Peace Corps
By MARC HANSEN • mahansen@dmreg.com • May 15, 2010
Photo: Christopher Gannon
At the end of May, Diana Darge of West Des Moines leaves for Armenia to spend two years in the Peace Corps.
Her two daughters are grown. She's healthy, she's single, she's always looking for the next adventure.
So what if she's 75?
The average age of the Peace Corps volunteer, according to the organization's website, is 28. Only 7 percent of the 7,600 serving around the world are over 50.
The timing is unusual, but Darge won't be setting a world record. The oldest Peace Corps volunteer was 86.
"I know there will be people in their 60s going to Armenia," she says. "I just tell them I'm in my 70s."
In Armenia, Darge will train English teachers. She's been a teacher most of her life, so that shouldn't be a problem. Her daughters, Deborah and Becky, say she was called to teach much the way their father, a retired Lutheran pastor, was called to preach.
Diana Darge was 7 and living in Michigan when she decided she wanted to be a teacher. Her grandmother gave her a small desk and a chalkboard.
"I'd line the neighborhood kids up and make them sit through my lesson," she said. "I love to teach, and my work at the Art Center the past six years has been fulfilling, but I felt something was missing in my life."
A lot of us have the same feeling, at least occasionally, but we don't sign up for two years in a landlocked former Soviet satellite in the Southern Caucasus - even if Noah's ark did come to rest there when the rain stopped.
Darge isn't like a lot of us, though. If teaching isn't her only reason for being, it's one of them. What better time than now, she'll tell you, to help "promote peace through education."
Her career began in a one-room schoolhouse in Nebraska and worked its way to the Des Moines public school system, where she taught elementary and middle school students for almost 30 years.
In the 1960s, Darge taught inner-city grade-school boys in Detroit.
A Fulbright scholarship took her to Mexico. She's been invited to work on projects in Japan and Washington, D.C.
In 1987, Darge earned a master's degree at Drake in art therapy. She wrote up an art therapy curriculum at Grand View University and taught the subject for 13 years.
The past six years, she's been teaching little kids at the Des Moines Art Center.
Darge paints and stitches and plays a variety of musical instruments, including the Autoharp, which will eventually make its way to Armenia.
"She's a remarkable role model," said Deborah Darge, the oldest daughter. "She was always doing something unique and there was always something else around the corner. You can choose to grow and change or not. It's a way of life. I hope I achieve a quarter of what my mother and father have achieved. She has the full support of the family. We're all thrilled."
Twenty-three-year-old Abby Darge-Weeks encouraged her grandmother to go for it. Last year they lived together for a few months. Abby got a taste of Diana's energy level when they went for a walk.
"I'm thinking I'll need to slow down," Abby said. "Boy, was I wrong. I got winded going up a hill. She kept on clipping."
Diana Darge has been defying expectations for years. She thought about joining the Peace Corps 10 years ago and sent for an application but put it aside.
Last year, she got serious. The application process was long and arduous. She had a physical exam, complete with shots and X-rays.
"It's almost like going into the military," she said.
Finally, Darge went to Chicago for a three-hour interview. When asked if she would be willing to go anywhere, she said you bet and got a choice: Asia or Eastern Europe.
She chose Asia. They offered Eastern Europe and gave her 10 days to accept.
Darge didn't need 10 minutes.
"Now," she said, "I just want to get the show on the road. I've had a wonderful life. I just hope this is another railroad car and not the caboose."
