Valerie Parent

With great sorrow, we announce the passing of our kind, selfless, and courageous fiance, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend, Valerie Jane Parent. Val passed away on April 24, 2023 at the young age of 66 after a short but brutal fight with cancer with her family by her side.

Val was born on March 5, 1957, to Joan and Francis Hemming, in Oxford, England. She grew up in the English countryside in Boars Hill. She was one of five children. It was in England that she met and married Ray Bradshaw and had two children together, Sophie and Gary.

In 1981, she moved to Massachusetts with an Airman she met stationed in England, David Parent. They were married for 25 years and had five children together- Victoria, Brittany, Andrew, Henry, and William. They lived most of those years in Waterville, ME. When the children were young, they attended the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years.

Val worked in the jewelry department of Jcpenney in Waterville, ME for over fifteen years and met and touched many people during her time there. After retiring from there, she went on to work as a substitute custodian and then full time custodian for Vassalboro Community School. She loved the children she got to see everyday and the teachers and staff there.

In 2007, she met Bruce Belanger and moved to Winslow, ME. Bruce was her companion in life up until she passed away. He never left her side while she battled cancer and multiple hospital procedures. In recent years, so many family memories took place around the pool at their house including holidays, birthday parties, and family bbqs. If you drive by their house, you may notice the plump squirrels, chipmunks, and birds around. Val loved all living things and fed as many as she could. She even had names for her most frequent visitors, such as Sammy the squirrel and Chippy the chipmunk who were often found joining the backyard family get-togethers. She even had Bruce installing a special ladder in the pool so that any critter that fell in, could climb out.

She is predeceased by her parents Francis and Joan Hemming, as well as numerous pets that she rescued over the years.

She is survived by her fiance Bruce Belanger. Also by her children Gary Bradshaw and partner Tiffany Field, Sophie (Ryan) Cruse, Victoria (Dustin) Costigan, Brittany Parent and partner Adam Morse, Andrew Parent, Henry (Amanda) Parent, and William Parent. She took great pride in her 16 grandchildren and great grandchildren, plus one on the way, whom she desperately wanted to meet. She is also survived by her sisters Gillian, Wendy, and Sharron, along with her brother Clive.

Val had the biggest heart and the most beautiful smile. She will forever be missed and remembered by the lives that she touched. Her biggest passion in life was the love she had for her family. She also loved traveling, the Maine coast, gardening, family walks, family holidays, bbqs, and her cats.

A funeral service will be on June 25th at 1pm at the Pleasant street United Methodist Church in Waterville followed by a gathering at the VFW in Winslow.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.VeilleuxFuneralHome.com for the Parent family.