Obituary: John Dakin
Courtesy photo
1953-2025
John Dakin, a beloved member of the international ski racing community known for his quick wit and encyclopedic knowledge of the sport, passed away at his home in Edwards, Colorado, on April 12. He was 71 years old.
A lifelong Coloradan, “JD” was born in Grand Junction, grew up both on Colorado’s Western Slope and in the Front Range, and learned to ski at a young age after initially refusing to take part in the sport, according to his family. Like many of his generation, Dakin’s first skis were wooden with cable bindings. But once he was hooked, he further honed his skills and deepened his love of skiing at Breckenridge, where his family had a ski cabin.
Dakin earned two degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Russian History (1975) and Journalism (1979). While at CU, Dakin began his journey in publicizing and marketing Alpine ski racing. In Boulder, he developed a passion that would ultimately take him around the world, gathering countless international friends in the process.
He wanted the sport to grow and be as beloved in the United States as it was in Europe, with all of the fanfare, excitement and drama witnessed in the classic venues of Kitzbühel or Wengen. And he succeeded. His career efforts earned him a well-deserved spot in the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame in 2022 for his role as a sport builder. His passing has drawn accolades from multitudes of journalists and sports officials across the United States and Europe.
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Dakin served as the Sports Information Director for the CU Ski Team in the 1970s, a period when the Buffaloes won eight consecutive NCAA championships. In 1981, Dakin became the U.S. Ski Team’s chief media officer after Bill Marolt, formerly the CU head coach, asked him to make a move to Park City, Utah, where the team is headquartered. His tenure included the rise of American athletes to the top of the sport for the first time in the World Cup era — Phil Mahre won three consecutive overall crystal globes (1981-83), and Tamara McKinney became the first U.S. woman to capture the overall title in 1983. A year later, the team won an unprecedented five Olympic medals at the 1984 Sarajevo Games.
Dakin came to Vail in 1986, initially to work in the communications department of Vail Associates (now Vail Resorts). A year later, he transitioned to the Vail Valley Foundation just as it was accelerating preparations for the first of three World Alpine Ski Championships held at Vail and Beaver Creek — 1989, 1999, and 2015 — events that put the resorts on the map as an international ski destination, as well as demonstrating an American flair for marketing and spectator engagement.
He spent 28 years as the nonprofit organization’s Vice President of Communications, working to increase awareness of events ranging from the annual World Cup ski races, and the development of the legendary Birds of Prey race arena at Beaver Creek, to mountain bike racing, golf, think tank events, ballet, and concerts throughout the valley. Dakin also worked in media operations for the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Dakin’s love of ski racing wasn’t limited to writing press releases or ensuring the media covering an event had a workspace, information, electricity, and the ability to communicate with the outside world (first phones, later WiFi). He spent many hours behind the microphone, calling races for the fans in attendance, starting at CU during the Buffs’ reign of collegiate racing. Dakin’s knowledge of the sport and its athletes was wide and deep. And he made everyone laugh, once “calling” a non-existent head-to-head matchup between Ingemar Stenmark and Phil Mahre. The two Alpine racing stars were nowhere in sight, but for a few minutes, the initially bewildered crowd cheered wildly. He and others in the booth worked to integrate a word or phrase far outside ski racing vernacular — “arugula,” “aardvark,” or “plastic pants,” for example — into a race call. His wit was sharp and infectious, and everyone he knew has a favorite JD story. Or seven.
Dakin left the Vail Valley Foundation in 2015 to become the Vice President of Communications for the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum (now Colorado Snowsports Museum), where he continued to bring and share his vast knowledge of the sport. He was especially gifted at crafting the videos that encapsulate each inductee’s lifetime of achievements and dedication to all aspects of snow sports.
He retired in 2020, which gave him more time to pursue his passion for wildlife photography. Dakin spent considerable time at the Eagle River Preserve close to his home in Edwards, capturing stunning images of the resident eagles, elk and deer herds, foxes and whatever he found in the frame of his lenses. A planned trip to Botswana that year was postponed due to the pandemic, and, sadly, never fulfilled due to his health challenges after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s roughly five years ago.
Said Dakin at his retirement gathering: “I feel that I have been truly blessed in my professional life to find something I was passionate about — ski racing — and to be in the right place at the right time to start and expand my career. It’s been head and shoulders above anything that any kid coming out of Grand Junction, Colorado, could have ever thought possible.”
Dakin is preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and JoAnn Dakin, his stepmother, Pauline Dakin, his sister Susan Miller Spehar, and his beloved dog Digger. In addition to the many friends he leaves behind in the Vail Valley and beyond, Dakin is survived by his brother Geo (Bonnie) Miller, his nephew Tyler (McKenzie) Miller, his nieces, Stephanie (Paul) Spehar and Christine (Erinn) Spehar, his brother-in-law Gerry Spehar, and his second beloved dog, Jessie. John’s family cherishes their many memories of visits and fun times spent with him; from watching Broncos games at the cabin in Breckenridge to playing football under the palm trees in Hawaii, it was a laugh a minute when John was in the room. His generous, gentle spirit and hilarious wit will be greatly missed, and remembered fondly.
A celebration of life is being planned for later in the summer in Vail.
