Elizabeth Thackrey Stromquist Valentini 1979-2006

STROMQUIST, VALENTINI

Posted By: michael (email)
Date: 12/5/2006 at 10:57:48

Elizabeth Thackrey Stromquist Valentini, 27, died on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 in Iowa City. She had suffered deep depression for the past two months. She struggled with the disease but in the end must have found the pain unbearable. She brought joy and love to those around her for all her years.

Born in Madison, Wisconsin on April 21, 1979, she enjoyed the warmth of a close community of family, friends and playmates before moving with her family to Iowa City in 1982. She led an active life as a student, athlete, and devoted friend during her years of schooling in the Iowa City Community Schools. She graduated from West High in 1997. Throughout her school years she enjoyed the company of a wide circle of close friends and was a gifted athlete who competed for West High in volleyball and soccer and was recognized with district and statewide honors. After high school she enrolled as an undergraduate at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where she majored in Communications Studies and competed as a setter on the school’s volleyball team. She was an active member and officer in Phi Rho Sorority. After graduation she followed her lifelong dream of moving to Chicago, a city whose excitement and culture had a special power for her even as a young child. She worked as a communications specialist for the American Bar Association in its national headquarters, and wherever she lived or worked she gathered around her a circle of close and supportive friends. In 2003 she married fellow graduate of Augustana, Jeff Valentini, and moved to Lombard and subsequently to Carol Stream. They divorced in September 2006 but continued to share a deep appreciation and respect for one another.

Her interests moved in the direction of teaching, for which she appeared to have a natural gift. She worked as a teacher of at-risk students at Hinsdale South High School and coached the Freshman volleyball team to a winning record. In the last couple of years she was preparing for work as an elementary school teacher. She taught at Elmhurst Academy for Early Childhood Education and in the Barrington School District as a teacher’s aide for an autistic child. Through night classes she was nearing completion of teacher certification and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She always brought a special spark and enthusiasm to her work with young children.

In her final months, she lived in Iowa City with her family as she battled the effects of deepening depression. Despite the darkness of her condition, she found time to nurture other family members and expressed what joy she could for the continuing love of her family and friends.

She is survived by her parents, Shel and Ann Stromquist; her brothers Chris and Matt and sister-in-law Laura Brueck; her maternal grandmother Mary Mullin; her aunts and uncles, Kris and John LiBretto, Great Uncle Bob Wilson, Beth Mullin and Brad Whitfield, Marty Mullin and Tom Cooney, and Becky and Bob Lough. She was blessed with many cousins with whose lives she intersected: Chas and Katharine LiBretto, Nathan and Matt Whitfield, Brendan and Meghan Cooney, Gabe and Dan Lough, Martina, Matt, Kellen and Emma Scanlan, and Natalie and Michael Wilson.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, December 3, 2006 at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Services, 605 Kirkwood Ave., Iowa City, IA. Visitation will be from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at the funeral home. Private burial at Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be directed to the National Alliance on Mental Illness—Johnson County.