Valerie J. Dooley

Valerie, 74, passed away April 27, 2023 in Colorado Springs, CO.

I’m thrilled to report that apparently, I have passed away. Woo-hoo! Everyone told me it would happen one day. My
spirit and soul are now released from my worn-out body and in God’s loving embrace. At least I hope that’s the path my
soul went and not the other direction. I am stress-free, pain-free and at peace. I am being cremated, so maybe I’ll finally
get that smoking hot body I always wanted.

I was born the youngest child on November 16, 1948 in Kansas City, Missouri to Vergie and Joseph Dooley. My parents
have gone on before me, as have my sister, a grandson, a nephew, and loads of beloved relatives and friends.
In 1954 the family moved to Denver, CO because my mom had tuberculous. In 1959 the family moved to Evergreen, CO
where I enjoyed ice skating, fishing, stealing meat from the freezer for Sassy, the mountain lion living next-door. Sassy
would purr when she saw me walking home from school and the whole mountainside would rumble with her purring.
Enjoyed drinking beer with the local police in the grocery store parking lot, digging worms from the garden with a
pitchfork for Herkimer, a robin we raised that was so spoiled he refused to dig his own worms, bringing tad poles and
frogs home from Evergreen Lake and letting them loose in the kitchen sink. Needless to say, mom was not thrilled. My
dad’s boss gave us a parakeet, Dickey, who was rehomed once mom discovered the only words he knew were “Good
morning you son-of-a-bxxxx”.

I graduated from Evergreen High School in 1966 and attended Sterling Junior College for one year, then ran out of money
and had to go to work. I moved to Littleton, CO in 1968. I served my country for 45 years as a defense contractor with
challenging and usually rewarding jobs supporting all branches of the Military, the Department of Defense, and the
Intelligence Community. I worked for Martin Marietta Aerospace Corporation (Lockheed-Martin Astronautics) 1968 to
1972, Science Application International, Johns Manville, Lowry AFB Security Police Squadron, and returned to Martin
Marietta (Lockheed-Martin) in 1977. I left Martin Marietta in 1992, moved to Colorado Springs, CO and worked for
Aegis Research Corporation/ManTech International Corporation for 23 years until I retired in 2015. My tongue was like a
colander from constantly biting it while trying to keep my mouth shut and smile.

It was an honor for me to be friends with some truly great people and I thank each and every one of you. Thank you for
sharing your life with me and for putting up with me. I loved my friends, my fun and quirky pets, cooking, gardening,
making chocolates and rhubarb/cherry jam, nature, and watching the neighborhood wildlife frolic through my property
and beloved neighborhood.

Love doesn’t die, people do. So, when all that’s left of me is love, give me away.
I am survived by my birth daughter Paula, grandson Brendan, nephew Michael, and numerous distant relatives across the
country.

In lieu of flowers please consider an unexpected and unsolicited act of kindness for others, or a memorial contribution in
my memory to Safe Place for Pets, 1520 North Hancock Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903; Happy Cats Haven; or
any animal rescue organization; or to Family of Christ Lutheran Church, 675 W. Baptist Rd., Colorado Springs, CO.

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