2025 Arizona Historymakers Recognition Celebrates Community Impact
The Historical League recently revealed the 2025 Arizona Historymakers™ in the fields of agriculture, medicine, and community outreach at a reception at the Arizona Heritage Center in Tempe.
One couple and seven Arizona leaders making lasting contributions to society and the growth of Arizona are part of this year’s class of honorees. They are:
- Bob Boze Bell — writer, humorist, artist and Old West historian
- Diana “Dede” Yazzie Devine — created innovative housing and health programs for Native Americans
- John W. Graham — real estate developer with deep and enduring community involvement
- Sharon Harper and Dr. Oliver Harper — business and civic leaders
- Sister Adele O’Sullivan, CSJ, M.D. — Sister of St. Joseph who established an innovative continuum of care for Arizonans experiencing homelessness
- Ronald “Ron” Rayner — nationally recognized for his innovative crop management practices and his community leadership
- Eric M. Reiman, M.D. — world leader in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease
- Duane Wooten, M.D. — well-known pediatrician and south Phoenix community leader
Also recognized during the evening were past Arizona Historymakers Elizabeth White, the Honorable Jim Bruner, Stevie Eller, Merrill Mahaffey and Harry and Rose Papp. The night also celebrated Arizona’s Statehood and a tribute to Mrs. White’s 102nd birthday.
The Arizona Historymakers’ program, created in 1992 by the Historical League Inc., awards Arizona individuals who have distinguished themselves with noted achievements and have maintained their ties to Arizona. To date over 90 Historymakers have been honored over the years at celebration events and with inclusion in the Historymakers Hall exhibit at the Arizona Heritage Center. Their videos, oral histories and transcripts are uploaded to the League’s website, YouTube, and preserved in the Library and Archives of Arizona Historical Society’s Heritage Center at Papago Park.
The Historymaker Committee is presenting “Turquoise & Treasures,” a Celebration Evening on October 25 to honor and share how the 2025 Arizona Historymakers have contributed to Arizona and the nation.
For more behind this Frontdoor, visit historicalleague.org.
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