The Early Years
Diana “Dee” Williams, was born in Detroit, Michigan and at seven the family moved to Vermont, her mother’s native state. With two older brothers she wanted to keep up with, she was soon skiing alongside them at Killington from Halloween until late May. A natural athlete, she gravitated to the then “new” discipline of Freestyle or “Hot Dog” Skiing.
Dee The Competitor
In the 1970s and 80s, Freestyle skiing had three disciplines - The three elements of Freestyle skiing Moguls, aerials and ballet – and were all required and Dee excelled at all three. She was named to the and made the US Freestyle Ski team in 1976 at the age of 17. Diana competed until 1983 when she “blew out her knee,” Freestyle speak for a catastrophic knee injury. She recovered and competed but a year later retired from competition and began to coach regionally.
Dee’s Coaching Career
In 1998, she became Freestyle Director of the Killington Mountain School that turned out World Cup and Olympic athletes such as Evan Dybvig, Hannah Hardaway, and Travis Mayer. After four years with the Olympic team she retired from full time coaching, was a part time regional coach at Stratton until in 2009 when she launched her second passion – a business focused on sharing the joy of that of wine and travel in France.
Hidden France and the Winery
The Hidden France quickly turned into the premier bespoke wine and food travel company in France and Italy offering people from around the world the opportunity to experience Burgundy, Bordeaux and Provence, in France, and Piedmont in Italy. Diana and Alex lived in Burgundy, France, where Alex had his winery and vineyards. Her love of the region and joy in showing others its beauty was unparalleled.
Extraordinary Grace
In 2018 Diana was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer and fought her cancer as she competed, coached and ran her business:
with her extraordinary standards of determination, rigor, grace and gratitude over the twenty-seven months until she passed in June 2020.
