Mother, Daughter, Sister, Niece, Cousin, Wife, Sister-In-Law, Aunt and Friend. Valerie Collins Fletcher was all these and more.
On August 22, she lost her battle with cancer – a battle that she fought gallantly. She was a Collins, after all, and was made of sterner stuff.
A native of Livingston New Jersey, her parents, John and Melisande, surrounded her and her siblings with a home filled with love, humor and a sense of pride. After graduating from Livingston High School, Val used those attributes to land a job working on Tom Kean’s campaign for Governor of New Jersey. After her stint as a “Keanraiser,” she went on to work for Congressman Dean Gallo, Secretary of State Jane Burgio, and Don DeFrancesco during his time in the Senate.
Feeling that she had more to offer, Val moved up north and attended the University of Maine in Augusta, where she received her teaching degree. She then headed west to California to begin her teaching career in the Truckee school system, where she changed the lives of hundreds of students. Without this extraordinary educator, many of these students would have been left behind. It is no surprise that she was awarded Teacher of the Year.
Her sharp wit, artistic flair, love of the stage, generous nature and all-around quirkiness will be missed.
She is survived by her husband, Michael; her daughter, Juliette; her siblings, Roger, John, Jeff, and Cindy; her sisters-in-law, Linda, Carol, and Robin; her cousins, Heather and Kim (who were like sisters to her); her Aunt Audrey and Henriette; nieces and nephews; and so many more family and friends.
Val gave the best of herself to all of us and now that she is gone, a piece of our hearts go with her. But the memories we have will never go… and there are many.
...
