Diana Edgerton Fetter was born February 7, 1934 to Jane Taber and Louis Henry Fetter in Long Branch, New Jersey. As a child, she attended Rumson Country Day School and high school at Miss Hall's School in Pittsfield, MA. In 1950, a group of students, of which Fetter a member, was sent to Europe to live with families abroad to counter-act anti-American feelings. In 1953, she was again given the opportunity to travel abroad during her junior year at Smith College and as a language major, she studied at the University of Florence for the academic year. Fetter graduated in 1955 cum laude from Smith with her Bachelor of the Arts degree. In September of that year, she found work at LIFE magazine as a researcher, where her skills in Italian and speed-reading served her well. She stayed on staff there until 1965, when she took on a position as an assistant producer for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). In 1970, she was promoted to Director of Research for ABC's News and Public Affairs Department, traveling all over the world conducting research. In 1971, Fetter was named News Director of Smith College and was responsible for handling all of the college's publicity. In 1974, she was head of the Education Division of the Cooley Dickinson Fund Drive, where she conducted an appeal among teaching and administrative staffs of educational institutions in the Northampton area. On December 28 of that same year, Fetter was married to George Warren de Villafranca of West Cummington, MA, the Gates Professor of Biology at Smith. In February of 1975, Fetter resigned as News Director. In 1981, she became Vice President of the Board of Managers at Lathrop House, a retirement residence for women in Northampton, MA. Fetter passed away on November 30, 1992 at the age of 58.

This collection includes biographical materials, personal journals, publications, photographs and newspaper clippings regarding Fetter's education and career at Smith College and elsewhere.