Ralph D. Valentine

Ralph Denson Valentine, 88, of Naples, FL, formerly of Berkshire, NY, was reunited in heaven with those he loves on November 21, 2020. Ralph was born in Waterproof, LA on May 10th, 1932 the eldest son of Abb Valentine and Flora (Hancock) Valentine. He is survived by his younger brother, James Ray Valentine, who was his constant childhood companion and they remained close to the end. Family was very important to Ralph and he often told stories of their youthful hijinks, along with favorite cousins Carolyn (Speed) Hinson and Jimmie Ruth (Speed) Smith, as technology was slow to come to their rural area but fun was readily available. In almost all the stories he told, somehow he was literally running from or towards something. That love for running carried on into his 50s and 60s when he started running in earnest and completed several full and half marathons. He had long legs and could outpace everyone he was withunless Jim tells the storytheir stories had a little bit of twist depending on who was doing the telling. But one thing that never changed was the lifetime of love and respect they had for each other. Ralph and Jim moved to Cincinnati, OH during their high school years to join their mother who had gone to the city to find work as sharecropping was not able to support the family. After high school graduation, Ralph went to the University of Cincinnati for Electrical Engineering graduating with a BS in 1957. It was there he met one of the few women in the Engineering program, who was to later become his wife, Delores Christine (Barnes) Valentine. He liked the challenge of a smart woman and together they were a great team! They met at a dance at the college hangout where he "gallantly" offered to dance with her since her date had a broken leg. Their love of dancing continued into their married life where they joined dancing groups beginning in the 1970s and ultimately starting Valentine Country where they taught country line dancing well into the 21st century. These different dance groups were the people that they shared countless hours of pleasure, and even some sorrow, with over the decades. Delores finally has her partner back as she entered heaven in 2015. Ralph and Delores had four children, Deborah (Tom) Kelly of Naples, FL, Daniel (Karen) Valentine of Binghamton, NY, Rebecca (Earl) Lytle of Franklin, PA, and Christi Valentine-Anderson. Christi entered heaven in January 2020 and now has her parents undivided attention while the rest of us are on this side. They created a wonderful rural childhood for us all. We had a beautiful home and animals to love (except for the turkeys). They gave us security and love in abundance. We went to church every week and they taught us about God and caring for others. Dad was a deacon and board member of the churches we attended and did not hesitate to take on leadership roles. He was responsible, fair, and community-minded. Life was not just about our family but how did we fit into the whole and what could we give others. In 1964 Ralph accepted an engineering job at IBM Federal Systems Division in Owego, NY. A move from Baltimore ensued with a rental in Newark Valley, NY while the house on Woodhaven Drive was being built. Mom and Dad loved to create things and designing a house, their house, was one of them. They were able to put their ideas into blueprints, build a house, and make it a home. They were a creative and capable team. He worked for IBM the rest of his career, advancing into management, with Mom joining him there as a programmer after she stopped teaching high school math. A family remark about a lame joke they repeated was that it was an "IBM joke" meaning it came from someone at IBM and it must be funny there. They loved to watch movies and comedy shows and often repeated lines from them that struck them as funny. I can still hear them saying, "Pokin at ya, pokin at ya" from Paula Poundstone. Dad loved the line, "I was born a poor black child" spoken by Steve Martin in The Jerk and that line was almost the beginning of this obituary (which he would have thought was funny). He had a dry wit and was very clever. When diabetes started to rob Mom of her sight, Dad began to sign cards to us kids. They were always so funny because you never knew what he was going to say! Dad was an avid reader and starting with the Tarzan books of his childhood and continuing through Louis Lamour and Isaac Asimov he pioneered and forged new frontiers in the west and outer space. He was very interested in anthropology and could have made that his career if engineering hadnt been a fit. However he still pursued his other interests through books. Ralph and Delores had six grandchildren: Hallet (Gloria) Bruestle II of Houston, PA, Christian Valentine of Binghamton, NY, Kathryn Kelly of Overland Park, KS, Jacqueline Bruestle of Kennerdell, PA, John Kelly of Overland Park, KS, and Aidan Anderson of Binghamton, NY. In addition to their grandchildren they remained close with their nieces and nephews, Jims children. Dad was a dynamic, gracious, wise, and kind-hearted man and one that many people loved and oh how he will be misseduntil we meet again. Due to COVID travel restrictions, Ralphs body was buried in Hope Cemetery in Newark Valley, NY on December 5th, 2020 with his son, Daniel, Dans wife Karen, and Ralphs grandson, Aidan Anderson, and Ralph and Delores close friend, Kathy Roberts in attendance. In the spring there will be a Celebration of a Life-Well-Lived once the restrictions to travel in NY are lifted. MacPhersons Funeral Home in Newark Valley, NY is handling the arrangements. Please feel free to write in his guestbook at www.macphersonfuneralhome.com. ***UPDATED SERVICE INFORMATION*** The Celebration of Life service for Ralph Valentine will be on September 4, 2021 at 11:00 AM at the Jenksville United Methodist Church 8064 West Creek Road Berkshire NY 13736 Following will be a Memorial Chicken Barbecue on the Speedsville Greene and in the Community Hall. Please RSVP 203.216.0300 by August 25th if you plan to attend the barbecue to help us with the count. Look forward to seeing everyone. Memorial Service Jenksville United Methodist Church Saturday, September 04, 2021 11:00 AM 8064 West Creek Rd Berkshire, NY 13736 Directions Reception Speedsville Greene and Community Hall Saturday, September 04, 2021 , Chicken BBQ Please RSVP 239-529-1470 by August 20 if you plan to attend the barbecue to help us with the count. Look forward to seeing everyone Directions