Obituary of Janice Eileen Valley

Janice Eileen (Delphia) Valley, 72, of Milton, VT died on Monday, October 22, 2018 surrounded by her husband and children. She was the beloved wife of Roger C. Valley, with whom she shared 54 years of marriage.

Born in Middlebury on January 2, 1946, Jan was the eldest daughter of Donald and Catherine (Lonergan) Delphia. She was raised in South Burlington and graduated from Rice Memorial High School. Jan worked for General Dynamics (formerly GE) for 44 years and was proud to be honored as a recipient of the Summit Award in 1996. She was a naturally selfless person and chose to spend countless time and energy volunteering in the Women’s Auxiliary of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Club Aerie #4218, even serving as their President.

Jan’s greatest joy was her family and friends, whom she cherished dearly. She was kind, warm, and even-tempered and people were drawn to her. She appreciated the sweet fragrant smell of lilacs blooming in June, relished the suspense of a good Mary Higgins Clark novel, savored the time spent painting the town with her close friends, affectionately known as  the “twisted sisters”, and welcomed a competitive Phase 10 card game with her grandchildren. She had an exceptional green thumb, and kept her daughter’s English ivy wedding bouquet plant thriving for 29 years despite her daughter’s repeated attempts to kill it. She lovingly tended to her mother’s precious orange begonia plant which continues to flower to this day. Jan especially loved her six grandchildren. They were the light of her life and she took great pride in their accomplishments.

Jan is survived by her husband, Roger; daughter, Lynne Fremeau and her husband Mark, of Northbridge, MA, and their children Rachel, Seth, and Ryan Fremeau; son, Mark Valley, of Norwood, MA, and his children Ellen, Hannah, and Grace Valley. She’s also survived by her sister, Brenda Thibault and her husband, David, of Tucson, AZ; brother-in-law, David Valley and his wife, Marion of Milton, VT; brother-in-law, Don Vallee and his wife, Kathy of Tucson, AZ; and brother-in-law John D. Farr, Jr. of Waterbury, VT. She was preceded in death by her sister-in-law, Julie (Vallee) Farr. She leaves many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, November 2, 2018 at 11 a.m. at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 41 Main Street, Milton, VT followed by burial at St. Ann Cemetery, 20 Middle Road, Milton, VT.

We wish to thank the wonderful staff of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, and especially Jan’s Palliative Care Team for their loving care during the final days of her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to raise funds for cancer research can be made to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, ℅ Christopher Knight ID#1068598, P. O. Box 415601, Boston, MA 02241 or via the web at https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/Donation2?idb=1714240511&df_id=1700&1700.donation=form1&FR_ID=1110&mfc_pref=T&PROXY_ID=1068598&PROXY_TYPE=20.

For more information, directions, or to leave a message of condolence, please visit www.minorfh.com.