Diane Sanborn Calloway

Diane S Calloway, Esq., of Atlanta, Georgia passed away peacefully at home in the early hours of Monday, June 26, 2023. Her husband of nearly thirty five years, George, and a cherished caregiver were both by her side. She was 68.

Born April 8, 1955 in Eugene, Oregon, Diane was the only child of Dr. George A. Sanborn and Joan A. Sanborn. The family moved to Athens, Georgia in her early childhood when her father, a noted professor, accepted a teaching position in the area. A bright and gifted child, Diane attended the prestigious Weslyan and St. Joseph’s Academies before receiving her highschool diploma from Brenau Academy in 1968 at the age of 13. In 1970, she moved briefly to California, where she received her BA in Sociology from Mount St. Mary’s University Los Angeles in 1974 and spent her summers in Santa Monica with her beloved grandmother Lady. From there, it was back home to Georgia to stay, where she attended the University of Georgia Lumpkin School of Law, receiving her Juris Doctor in 1977. She was admitted to the Georgia State Bar Association in May of 1978, when she was just 23.

As a young attorney working for a firm specializing in courthouse records examinations, Diane was spending a great deal of time in the DeKalb County Record Room in Decatur, Georgia, when she met George, who was doing the same kind of work for a different firm. A relationship soon formed, and they were married July 29, 1988. Though she had no children of her own, she took to her role as stepmother to George’s young daughter Capiz with passion and enthusiasm.

Ever ambitious and driven, in 1994, Diane founded her own corporate title agency, Specialized Title Services, Inc (“STS”). In February 1995, George joined STS, and Diane and George together founded their own law firm, Calloway & Calloway, PC. Diane also opened a sister corporation, Atlanta Escrow and Exchange Service Inc., which, as a member of the Federation of Exchange Accommodators, Inc., functioned as a qualified intermediary in complex tax-deferred real estate related exchanges. Never one to rest on her many accumulated accolades, Diane taught a number of classes at John Marshall Law School from 1992 - 1994, and also earned the distinguished Certified Exchange Specialist designation in October 2003. A devoted and astute attorney with extensive experience in title law, real estate transactions and tax deferred exchanges, Diane was named a Georgia Super Lawyer by Atlanta Magazine in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Having successfully navigated all three firms through the financial crisis of 2008, personal tragedy struck in February 2010 when Diane suffered a major stroke while visiting her mother in Boston. The stroke came on the heels of a recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, but Diane was undeterred, continuing to earn professional distinction and recognition from her peers all the way up to 2018, when she received the George A. Pindar Award, given by the Real Property Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association, shortly before her retirement. This award is only granted to “members of the section whose lifetime contribution has been significant to the real estate bar, who unselfishly give of themselves for the benefit of the bar, and to people whom the committee thinks represent the ethics and ideals of George A. Pindar”.

A firm believer in community, Diane was also an active and participating member in several professional associations. In both the American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) and the Southeast Land Title Association (“SLTA”), she celebrated a number of personal achievements, including: President of SLTA 2006-2007,Title Person of the Year SLTA 2012, Chair of the SLTA Georgia Governmental Affairs Committee from 2005-2017, as well as receiving the honor of the first ever Advocacy Award given by ALTA for her community involvement and political outreach. She served as Georgia Trustee for the Title Industry Political Action Committee(“TIPAC”) for a number of years, receiving the Trustee of the Year award for her efforts as an activist and fundraiser in 2011. She was also a long standing member of the Legislative Subcommittee of the Real Property Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association, the Commercial Real Estate Women ("CREW") Atlanta where she contributed her professional services to the organization's supportive housing initiatives, the advisory council to Congressman Tom Price, MD (Sixth District), and a cornerstone board member of the Federal Affairs Committee of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Perhaps one of her proudest achievements in her community, however, was to become a founding Board Member and Treasurer of the Fulton Perimeter Community Improvement District (“Fulton Perimeter CID”), as well as the Founding President of the Central Perimeter Business Alliance. Recognized for her vision, commitment and leadership with the Five Year Director Award by the Fulton Perimeter CID for the years 2001-2006, Diane was deeply involved in a number of community improvement projects that have left an enduring mark on the region, including the completion of the Perimeter Center Parkway “flyover” bridge in 2007, connecting the north side of I-285 with Lake Hearn Boulevard south of I-285, whose cornerstone plaque bears her name. Other projects she was involved in include the “diverging diamond” intersection at Ashford Dunwoody and I-285, the first of its kind in the Atlanta area, and the Hammond Drive “half diamond” intersection. An integral and vital member of her local business community, Diane will long be remembered in Georgia for her passion and dedication to what she considered her civic responsibility.

In addition to her many professional and public pursuits, Diane was a devoted lover of UGA football (Go Dawgs!), all things golf, the color pink, and animals. Diane never met a stray animal she didn’t try to save. Though she especially loved cats and had several she rescued throughout her life, maybe no pet was ever as special to her as a flat coated retriever she spared from certain death where he’d been abandoned on the outskirts of a farm in rural Georgia, a big dog she aptly named “Lucky”.

Diane is preceded in death by her parents, Dr. George A. Sanborn of Athens, GA, and Joan A. Sanborn of Boston, MA, her aunt Sister Barbara Mary Sanborn of Los Angeles, CA, sister-in-law Mary Ann Posey of Deatsville, AL, brother-in-law S. Marcus Calloway of Atlanta, GA, and her Lucky Dawg. She is survived by her husband George, her step-daughter Capiz (Forrest Hasbrook), sister-in-law Clea Calloway, brother-in-law Rickie Posey, nieces Amanda Calloway (Kevin Mercer), S. Amelia Calloway (Brett Roberts) and Alyssa Calloway, and a number of dear lifelong friends she also considered family, including three step-children from a previous marriage: Sid Shropshire(Genese), Mitch Shropshire and Pam Shropshire.

Services for Diane will be held Saturday, July 1 at 1:00 p.m. at H.M. Patterson & Son Oglethorpe Hill Chapel, located at 4550 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30319. The family will receive guests in a short reception at the same location afterwards. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation to find a cure for Parkinson’s, Fur Kids, or your favorite animal shelter.