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I. T. “Tim” Valentine

March 15, 1926 ~ November 10, 2015

FORMER CONGRESSMAN I.T. "TIM" VALENTINE, JR. Nashville - Former United States Representative Itimous Thaddeus Valentine, Jr. - better known as Tim Valentine, was born in Nash County, North Carolina on March 15, 1926 to I. T. and Hazel Armstrong Valentine. He passed away on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at the age of 89. Mr. Valentine was predeceased by his parents; sisters, Hazel Jessup, Betsy Fuller, Mary Hobbs McIntyre; and brother, James Valentine; and by his first wife, Betsy Carr Valentine, the mother of his four children. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Reynolds Valentine, of the home; four children: Stephen M. Valentine and wife, Gina of Beaufort, NC; Mark L. Valentine and wife, Tonja of Wendell, NC; Philip C. Valentine and wife, Susan of Nashville, TN; and Beth Valentine Dollar and husband, Steven of Wilson, NC; nine grandchildren: Matthew Valentine, Braxton Valentine, Spencer Valentine, Jackson Valentine, Carr Valentine, Campbell Valentine, Douglas Valentine, Harrison Dollar and Anna Dollar. Surviving also are three stepchildren: Mark C. Berry of New Bern, NC, Vaughn Berry-Daniel of Wilson, NC; and Bryan E. Berry and wife, Lisa of Wilson, NC; and five step-grandchildren: Ryan Berry, Adam Berry, Mary Rome Daniel, Miller Berry and Helen Berry; and step great-grandson, Mason Berry. Mr. Valentine graduated from Nashville High School in 1943 and attended the Citadel, Charleston, SC until July 19, 1944 when he became a member of the U.S. Army Air Force. Part of this service was in the Philippine Islands shortly after the end of World War II. He was discharged on August 22, 1946 and returned to the Citadel as a veteran student and graduated in December, 1948 with an A. B. degree in political science. In 1952 he graduated from the Law School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After passing the Bar exam in 1952, he entered law practice with his father, I. T. Valentine, Sr., a former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice. After Valentine & Valentine, the firm became Valentine, Valentine and Adams with the addition of Franklin L. Adams, Jr. and later Valentine, Adams and Lamar, with L. Wardlaw Lamar. In 1954, he was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives and served in the Session of 1955, the special Session of 1956 and the regular Session of 1957 and 1959. During the 1959 Session, he was Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary II. In 1965 he served as legal assistant on the staff of Governor Dan K. Moore and as attorney for the North Carolina Railroad. During the General Assembly Session of 1967 he served as Governor Moore's legislative council. Tim Valentine was elected State Chairman of the Democratic Party in 1966 and served in that capacity for two years. At the National Convention of the Democratic Party in Chicago in 1968 he delivered the nominating speech for Governor Moore's "favorite son" candidacy for President. In 1982, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from the State's Second District. There he served for twelve years (six terms). In Congress he was a member of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation and the Committee on Science, Space and Technology. For four years he was Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Technology and Competitiveness. Throughout a lifetime of public and professional service Tim Valentine served as Co-Chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Agricultural Waste, as a member of the North Carolina Courts Commission, the Committee on the Future of the Courts in North Carolina, the Board of Trustees of Nash General Hospital, and the Country Doctor Museum in Bailey, NC. From 1994 to 2005 he served on the Board of Directors of the N.C. Biotechnology Center, part of that time on its Executive Committee and as Vice-Chairman of the Board. Tim Valentine was a founding member and the second President of "Save our State," an environmental protection organization, sponsored initially by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, which later become "Sustainable North Carolina." Tim Valentine was also a founding member and President of the Tar River Land Conservancy. Tim Valentine was at one time a member of the American Bar Association, the N.C. Bar Association, the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Nash-Edgecombe Bar Association (past President) and the Nash-Wilson-Edgecombe Bar Association. He was a member and past President of the Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club and served on the original Board of Directors of First Carolina State Bank of Rocky Mount. In the waning years of retirement, Tim Valentine served as a volunteer at Nash General Hospital and as an announcer at Down East Radio Reading Service, in all-volunteer service for the visually handicapped of the Nash, Wilson and Edgecombe Counties area. Valentine was honored by becoming a member of the Nash-Edgecombe Hall of Fame. In 2014, the Department of Transportation named a portion of Highway 64 for him. A member of Lakeside Baptist Church, funeral services will be held Saturday, November 14, 2015, in the sanctuary, 1501 Sunset Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC, at 2:00 pm. The family will receive friends from 12:00 Noon until 1:45 pm in the Sugg Foyer of the Education Building. They will also be at their home in Nashville from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm on Friday, November 13, 2015. Interment will be at Forest Hill Cemetery in Nashville following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Lakeside Baptist Church, 1501 Sunset Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804; Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 8799, Rocky Mount, NC 27804; Hazel A. Valentine Scholarship Fund of the Business and Professional Women, c/o Mary Wells, 1924 Thomas A. Betts Parkway, Rocky Mount, NC 27804, or to the charity of one's choice. Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler and Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com. Visitation Lakeside Baptist Church 1501 Sunset Avenue Rocky Mount, NC 27804 ID ) ); ?>"> --> 252-446-0126 --> | Saturday 11/14, 12:00 pm Service Lakeside Baptist Church 1501 Sunset Avenue Rocky Mount, NC 27804 ID ) ); ?>"> --> 252-446-0126 --> | Saturday 11/14, 2:00 pm Cemetery Forest Hill Cemetery 350 North 1st Street, Ext. Nashville, NC 27856

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  1. Oh, how I loved this man!!!! He was so much fun when we did a show together at Nash Arts years ago! We formed a bond then that I will ALWAYS cherish. I will miss you, dear friend. Til we meet again…………….. Sandy Suggs

  2. Tim was a fair man and a serious legislator! Enjoyed his visits to J.R.’s Stockyards Inn here in Tysons Corner. Enjoyed political banter with Tim. Jim Wordsworth

  3. A true friend, gentleman, and Statesman, I will miss our Thursday lunches at Kiwanis, his learned advice, counsel, and his warm smile. My heartfelt condolences to his loving wife, and family. May he rest knowing his life was one well done.

  4. I’d like everyone to know that we will also be receiving friends at the Valentine home in Nashville Friday afternoon from 2pm to 5pm. Please feel free to come by… Mark V

  5. Barbara, Mark, Vaugh, and Bryan, What a special place you and Tim have in our hearts. We are so sorry to learn of the loss of our Tim, who we never visited without his sharing a his humor and cleverness. What a wonderful difference he made in so many lives personally and professionally. Sharing a prayer from Goldsboro, Sherry and Gene Aycock

  6. I only met him once, so I didn’t know the Congressman. Knowing 2 of his sons (and 3 grandsons) and seeing what great guys they are, I would say he must have been quite a guy and a helluva Dad. R.I.P. Congressman Valentine. Lighting candles for his memory and for his wonderful family. Johnny B

  7. With our deepest sympathy to the family of Mr.Valentine. I was truly honored to have known him. May love of family and friends comfort you at this time. Bryan and Rhonda Robbins

  8. I remember my father, Donald Winstead, telling a story about Tim. Im not sure if its true but it speaks to how I remember the brilliant man that was Tim Valentine. Tim was representing a man accused of speeding in Nashville in the 1960’s. Tim asks the officer how fast his client was going. The officer says about 45 in a 25…About 45 Tim asks Yes in my many years of experience on the police force I can tell how fast somethings going. Tim takes out his pen and throws it across the courtroom; it crashes against the opposite wall. Tim asks, How fast was that pen going when it hit the wall The officer mumbles I dont know Tim looks at the judge, your honor I move this case be dismissed The gavel comes down, Case Dismissed Bob Winstead

  9. May God strengthen and console the family of this champion of the people, who served our communities with distinction.

  10. I served as the Executive Director of the Region L Council of Governments which was located in Rocky Mount in the 1980s. I fondly remember Tim as a good man and an excellent U.S. Representative for the area during that time period. One particular memory was on the occasion of an exchange visit by the City Chief Executive (equivalent of a City Manager) of Canterbury, England with me in Rocky Mount. When we went up to Washington to visit the U.S. Congress, Tim met with the two of us at the Congressional Dining Room for lunch. He could not have been more charming and welcoming to us during that visit. It clearly was the highlight of the visit for the English gentleman. Tim always displayed grace, humor and a love of life. He was the quintessential gentleman. Tom Elkins, Raleigh, NC


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