Obituary of Peter George Diamandis

Peter George Diamandis, who spent most of his business career in magazine publishing, died of cancer at his home in Rowayton, CT on June 17. The son of a Greek immigrant father and Irish-American mother, he was born in Newark, NJ in 1931. He was raised in Short Hills and graduated from Millburn High School and Bucknell University. After graduating from Officers Candidate School in Newport, RI, he served 3 years on a destroyer in the north Atlantic, retiring as a Lieutenant jg. He was the publisher of Mademoiselle Magazine, New York Magazine and its sister publication New West, launched the highly successful Self Magazine in 1980 and was named Marketing Man of the Year by the American Marketing Association. As the publisher of the venerable Woman's Day, the flagship of the CBS Magazines, he accomplished the mandate to put new life into the publication, and was made president of CBS Magazines. Under his tutelage the company added 12 new magazines to its group with the purchase of part of Ziff-Davis Publications making CBS the largest publisher of specialty magazines (22) in the nation. When CBS under the rein of Larry Tisch was selling its various divisions, Mr. Diamandis secured the financing to enable the employees to buy the company which became Diamandis Communications Inc. When DCI was later sold to Hachette he made the unprecedented move of liberally sharing the profits with both the major and minor employees of the company. Mr. Diamandis was a 55 year resident of Rowayton, CT. He was a member of the board of trustees of Bucknell University and the advisory board of Norwalk Community College. He served as chairman of the board of the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium and in 1995 ran a five-year 20 million dollar expansion plan for what is now arguably Norwalk's chief tourist attraction. Mr. Diamandis was president of the Magazine Publishers Association and a member of the National Little League Board. He was a long-time member of the United Church of Rowayton. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Joan, one daughter, Holly Diamandis of Rowayton and five sons: Peter Diamandis of Salt Lake City, Christian Diamandis of Las Vegas, Cameron, Alexander and Jason Diamandis of Rowayton, as well at 10 grandchildren. He also leaves his brother George of Clearwater, FL and was pre-deceased by his parents and his sister. A memorial service will be held at 11 AM on July 11 at the United Church of Rowayton. A reception will follow at Woodway Country Club. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF.org), 95 Pine Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien is handling the memorial arrangements. Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820