Dede was born in Whittier, California, on March 31, 1951. She was the daughter of Merle Schlageter and the late Alice Doris Vickers. She earned her B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley in 1974. After college she came east on a whim and worked as a nanny and also at the Harvard University library before moving to Vermont, where she was a trip leader for Vermont Bicycle Touring. It was there that she met Jon Williams, who she married on September 23, 1978. She later worked for the Vermont Department of Health as an AIDS educator. Always eager to broaden her experiences, Dede received her masters in business education from St. Michael's College in 1999. She went on to work as a business loan officer at the Vermont Development Credit Union, where she enjoyed helping people get started in new directions. Since 2004 she was a business loan analyst for the Chittenden Bank of Burlington, Vermont, where she especially enjoyed new challenges and the supportive community of people with whom she worked.
Dede was a feminist and a strong woman who lived an active life. She loved good books and intimate conversation over a cup of hot coffee. She served on the Harwood Union School Board, and was a past president of the Hunger Mountain Food Co-op. She coached girls' softball in Waterbury and, at age 39, took up playing ice hockey for the Motherpuckers adult women's team in Stowe -- quite a feat for a California girl. She loved cross-country skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, running, biking, gardening, and daily walks on Maggies Way with her dog "Jasmine," her family and neighbors. She was a soulmate to Jon, her husband of 29 years, and a passionate loving mother to her daughters, Carley Williams, now of Arlington, Va., and Annie Williams, who is attending St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.
Dede is also survived by her father Merle Schlageter and stepmother Sue, of Knight's Ferry, CA, her brother Darrell Schlageter of San Diego, a sister-in-law, Susan B. Williams, of Richmond, and Jon's family: Parker Williams of Brewster, MA, Susan and Rick Loomis of Yarmouth, ME, Margaret Williams and Frank Rogers of Kingfield, ME, Beth Williams and Tom Ziobrowski of Danville, VT, Brad Williams and Nancy Cornish of Omaha, NE, and her many beloved nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brother-in-law Sumner Williams, and Jon's parents, Parker and Frances Williams of Peacham, VT.
A celebration of Dede's life will be held at 3 p.m. on May 12, 2007, outdoors at the Beard Farm, at the top of Barnes Hill Road, Waterbury Center. Please dress for the weather. All are welcome to join in this celebration, which will be followed by a potluck--a special appetizer or dessert would be appreciated. Feel free to bring daffodils and a written or drawn memory of Dede that will later be bound into a book for her family. For those who wish, donations in Dede's memory can made to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641, or to the American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge, 211 East Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401. To send online condolences, please visit www.perkinsparker.com. The Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury is assisting the family.
