Valles, Frances (Stoen) 1928 - 2023

VALLES, STOEN, CURTIS

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 3/4/2023 at 12:47:29

Frances Valles passed away peacefully from natural causes on Feb. 18, 2023 in Vancouver, Wash. with family members at her bedside.

She was 94, just two weeks shy of her 95th birthday.

Frances was born in Decorah, Iowa on March 3, 1928. She was the middle child of five siblings born to Charles and Nellie Stoen. She had an older brother, Roger; an older sister, Helen; and two younger sisters, Dorothy and Mary. She grew up in Decorah, a small town of Norwegian-American culture in the northeast corner of Iowa, known as the home of Luther College. She was very proud of her full-blooded Norwegian heritage. Frances graduated from Decorah High School in 1946 and she was an outstanding member of her high school debate team. She attended the University of Iowa School of Nursing in Iowa City (Hawkeyes) and graduated from nursing school in 1956. As a registered nurse she practiced in Charles City Iowa, Decorah Iowa, Arcadia, Calif., and Covina, Calif. She worked in hospitals, mostly swing shifts from 3 to 11 p.m., while raising her family, including almost 30 years at the Inter-Community Hospital in Covina, Calif.

Frances was a beloved mother to seven children: Julie, Tom, David, John, Edward, Bill and Amy. She always strived to do her best for them and she was dedicated to providing her children a life of happiness. Although she sometimes struggled to put food on the table, she made sure that her children never knew it, and because of her they never went without. The bond she had with each of her children was unbreakable. Her kids always called her, simply, “Mom”, and she was affectionally known as Fran or Franny by other family members and close friends.

Frances was married twice. At the age of 21 she married Sidney Curtis at the Decorah Lutheran Church on Dec. 18, 1949. Fran and Sid raised seven children together before Sid died unexpectedly on April 16, 1979 at the age of 56 in a terrible tractor accident while working at a construction site. Frances was 51 at that time and she suddenly became a single mom with three of her children still living at home.Twenty-two years later, during the summer of 2001, Frances’ son Tom was researching his father’s World War II Army service record and he got to know Daniel Valles, who had served in the same platoon with Sid during the war. As Daniel explained, he and Sid experienced combat together throughout the Pacific theater from 1942 to 1946. Frances and Daniel met to exchange information and they soon fell in love. On Aug. 24, 2001, when Frances was 73 years old, they were married at the Little Country Christian Church in Hesperia, Calif. Tragically, Daniel died of cancer only three years later, on Sept. 2, 2004, at the age of 82.

Frances always had a love and appreciation for music, especially classical and big band music. Her favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. When she was a young child she took piano lessons, and she also played the French horn in high school. She enjoyed growing roses in her flower garden and watching hummingbirds gather at her feeders. Her favorite color was yellow; her favorite food, a chocolate shake. Her happiest days were filled with family activities, including: family reunions, camping, fishing, baking and traveling. She was an amazing grandma and great-grandma and she loved being around family more than anything. She was generous, humorous, thoughtful, kind, compassionate and loving. She lived a full life. All who knew her loved and admired her.

Those who passed before her were: her father and mother, Charles and Nellie Stoen; her brother and two sisters, Roger, Helen and Dorothy; her daughter, Julie (Paul); her sons, John and Ed; two husbands, Sidney and Daniel; and two grandchildren

She is survived by her sister, Mary; three sons, Tom (Karen), David (Kim) and Bill (Araceli); her daughter, Amy; fourteen grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and many other family relatives. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her.

A memorial service will be held at Shepard of the Valley Lutheran Church, 17625 NW Cornell Road, Beaverton, OR 97006 on March 4, 2023 at 2 p.m. A livestream link to the service will be provided. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, in memory of Frances Valles (Stoen) at: Join / Give | Vesterheim Norwegian-American.

Source: Decorah Newspapers Fe. 27, 2023