Marie C. Valentine

Marie Catherine (Avenarius) Valentine, 99 of Dubuque, Iowa died peacefully, surrounded by her family on Tuesday, July 26th, 2022 at home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, August 1st at St Joseph The Worker Catholic Church with Reverend Brian Dellaert officiating. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Key West, Iowa. Friends may call from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, July 31st at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road. with a wake service at 4:45 p.m.  

Marie was born April 30, 1923, in Dubuque, daughter of Edward and Alvina (Meyers) Avenarius. She married Edward M Valentine on October 18, 1944 at Holy Ghost Catholic Church. She attended school at Holy Ghost and IC Academy.  Marie moved from the North End of town to the Valentine family farm upon marriage and was the best homemaker around. Marie was an exceptional wife, mom, grandma, great grandma, great-great grandma, sister, sister-in-law, aunt and friend.  

Marie was invaluable to her family and all who loved her. She was a charter member of St Joseph the Worker, served on parish council, and headed up the senior citizen program for 18 years.  She enjoyed being a member of the St Joe's church choir, an usher, member of Farm Bureau and Catholic Knights. Marie was very talented and had a beautiful voice.  She sang at many grand childrens weddings, created beautiful crocheted pieces and priceless embroidered works of art. She never missed a birthday or anniversary with a card and a $2 bill.  

Marie is survived by her children Bill (Sandy) Valentine, Mary Kay (Bob) Schauer, Gary (Becky Turner) Valentine and Shelly (Mike) Ellis; Daughters-in-law Marlene (Watters) Valentine and Janet Wolff; her grandchildren Jim Valentine, Amy (Dan Schmitt) Schmerbach, Laura (Jim) Hammel, Bobby (Meghan) Valentine, Steve (Stephanie) Valentine, Lisa Valentine, Randy (Kati) Valentine, Tracy (Marty) Goedken, Shannon (Rob) Leveridge, Robin (Chad) Hoffman, Bobby (Callie) Schauer, Megan (Miguel Gutierrez) Valentine, Matthew (Tatum Mays) Valentine, Samuel (Natasha Heeren) Valentine, Justin (Kaitlyn Russell) Waller, Andy (Gabby Felderman) Waller, Molly (David) Maro and Jakob (Emma Addison) Waller and Angie Valentine; great-grandchildren Brian and Nicole (Tyler Brown) Valentine, Amanda (Brenton) Benedict, Austin (Alana Cayro) Schmerbach, Nick (Ashley Kramer), Luke (Jessi), Mitchel, and Sydney Hammel, Rory, Nellie, Bear and Crosby Valentine, Sierra (Evan Straw), Sidney and Ashley Valentine, Emma (Jake Woodward), Will and Brady Powers, AJay, Owen, Easton and Luci Valentine, Kylie (Jakob Kirman), Aubrey, Peyton and Kinsley Goedken, Asher, Reuben, Caleb and Maggie Leveridge, Maya, Gavin, Cooper and Isaac Hoffman, Faith, Eddie, Isabelle, Wyatt and Blake Schauer; great-great grandchildren Ila Hammel, Charleigh and Parker Benedict; sister-in-law Rachel Avenarius along with 3 precious new additions on the way -  baby Maro, baby Hammel and baby Valentine.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Edward “Eddie” Valentine, son Ronald “Ronnie” Valentine, daughter-in-law Macy (Thome) Valentine, son-in-law Dale Waller, her brother Louie Avenarius; along with many brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and a great grandson William Keith Valentine.

In lieu of flowers a Marie Valentine Memorial Fund has been established.   

The family would like to offer a special thank you and will be forever grateful to Debbie with Home Instead for the love and care she provided, as well as Hospice of Dubuque, especially Jeremiah and Barb for the comfort they provided Marie.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.