Obituary of Jean Marie Valentino

In addition to being a wonderful wife to Ferdinand, mother to Lisa Vigneault (Paul), mother in law to Dawn Nita and doting grandmother to Nicole Vigneault, Jean Marie led an interesting life. She was born in Fredericton, NB in 1929 to the late Frederick and Catherine (MacDonald) Carney. When she was 7 the great flood washed away part of the railway bridge and her father, who worked for the CNR, was transferred to Edmundston, so off they went. As a teenager she was very involved in the church and spent a great deal of time at the Cathedral helping Monseigneur in the office. Scouting brought her great joy in her early 20’s, she was Assistant District Commissioner (Cubs) in Edmundston, had her Gilwell and was part of the Provincial Training Team. We heard many funny stories about the antics that took place in the radio station CJEM Edmundston during the two years that she worked there. One of her proudest accomplishments was teaching in a one room school house and years later receiving a letter from one of her students saying that she had inspired her so much that she was the first person in her community to attend university. Jean Marie taught Physical Education in Edmundston Public Schools and NB Teacher’s College in addition to adjudicating folk dancing in NB and NS. Jean Marie then got married to Ferdinand and moved to Minto, but that didn’t slow her down much. She raised three children while running errands for the pharmacy, serving on the CWL, the School Board, the NB Legal Aid Committee and sitting on the Hospital Auxiliary Board of which she was a past president. She was also a member of the National Advisory Council for Physical Education and Recreation where she got to play soccer in broad daylight in the middle of the night in Tuktoyaktuk and have dinner with Pierrre Elliot Trudeau. She had a great love of Barbados her “Island in the Sun”. By her actions she taught us to stand up for what we believe is right. She will be greatly missed by us. Jean Marie is predeceased by sons Gino and Giuliano Valentino; brother, John Carney; and sisters, Helen Carney and Estelle Fitzpatrick. Resting at Oromocto Funeral Home on Wednesday evening from 6-8pm. Funeral Mass will be celebrated 11AM Thursday, November 9, 2017 from St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, Oromocto, NB. Interment will take place in Holy Rosary Catholic Cemetery, Minto. For those who wish, donations made to the Alzheimer Society would be appreciated by the family. www.hoggfunerals.ca