February 14, 1940 - January 30, 2016
A celebration of life memorial will be held for Valdine Joy Whetzel at Chattaroy Community Church on February 16th. Valdine passed at home surrounded by her family on Saturday January 30. She was born on Valentine’s Day of 1940, the middle of 3 girls, and raised on her parent’s, Winfield and Helen Cook, dairy farm in Chewelah, Washington. - Valdine married Earl Whetzel on February 8, 1959, and after starting their own family in Chewelah, moved to, and built homes on Peone Prairie and later, Mt. Spokane. - She inspired and was loved by many for her positive adventurous spirit, love of family and friends, sense of humor, creativity and true servant heart. Her adventurous spirit led her to enjoy running marathons, roller blading, snowmobiling, skiing and even bungee jumping. Her love of family was evident by devoted time spent working alongside her husband of 57 years, raising (corralling) 3 busy boys and later spoiling her grandsons and great grandsons. Genuine, lasting relationships grew with many, including other young families on Peone Prairie, co-workers at Colbert Elementary and running partners. Whether it was keeping things light and fun at home, relating to kids or joking with friends, her sense of humor was always present, even within days of her passing. - Valdine had a special creative touch. She found, and gave much joy in cooking and baking for family and friends, decorating wedding cakes, decorating her home with hearts and her favorite color, red, crafting as many as 80 wreaths every Christmas and tending her incredible park-like flower gardens. Her true servant heart showed through as she exceeded the needs of her active family and as a library aide at Colbert Elementary, loved and respected by both staff and students. While at Colbert, she also shared her joy of running and healthy lifestyle, helping to develop a running program for the kids at the school. Valdine was known to many as ‘Val’ or ‘Deeny’, but to those that mattered most to her as, ‘Hun’, ‘Young Lady’, ‘Mom’ or ‘Tiny Grandma’. - Valdine was preceded in death by her parents Winfield & Helen Cook and brother Dwight. She is survived by her husband Earl of Mead WA; Sister Dana (Dave) Thatcher of Shelton and Judy Bean (Gary) of Chewelah WA; Sons Matt (Kathleen) of Arlee MT, Mitch (Jonalyn) of Mead WA and Monte (Janey) of Springdale WA; Grandsons Boyd (Lindsay) of Spokane WA and Jake of Salt Lake City UT, Taylor of Whiteman USAF Base, Missouri; Tanner of Bozeman MT; and Great Grandsons Grayson & Owen. - In lieu of flowers, the family would like to encourage friends to consider making a donation to an ‘active youth’ program of your choice or to Hospice of Spokane for their tender care and support during the last couple of weeks. Hospice of Spokane, 121 S. Arthur St., Spokane, WA 99202 - Please join us as we celebrate Valdine’s life at 1:00 pm, on Tuesday February 16th at Chattaroy Community Church, 3711 E Chattaroy Rd, Chattaroy, WA 99003.
