Dolores ‘Dee’ Valenti

Dolores Ann “Dee” Valenti (nee Albrecht) passed away peacefully in her sleep on Jan. 3, 2021. She was 92.

Born to William and Freda (Kasten) Albrecht on July 6, 1929, Dee was born and attended school in Milwaukee.

On May 17, 1950, she married Dante Valenti. Together, they had five children — Mary Jo (Mike Gracz), Nancy, Christine, Theresa (Kenneth) Rismeyer and Jayne (the late Jack Miller).

She was preceded in death by her granddaughter Serena, her parents, her son-in-law Jack, her sister Donna and others.

She is survived by her children and grandchildren, Autumn Rismeyer, Ryan Rismeyer, Riley Miller, Anna Miller, Emily Wester and Matthew Gracz. She is further survived by many friends and relatives and her beloved son Jerry Wester.

After being a busy stay-at-home mother for some years, Dee worked as a bookkeeper for Red Owl on Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee, then, after the family moved to Port Washington in 1969, she worked at Bolens Manufacturing in accounting.
  

Dee loved life. She loved laughter and it followed her everywhere she went. She was a great bowler. She adored simple things. A piece of nicely buttered toast and a hot cup of coffee “with cream” for breakfast was her pleasure. We teased her that she sure lived a long life, being her four basic food groups were cheeseburgers, fries, potato chips and bacon.

An avid reader, she gave her girls their love of books. Every Saturday, she would grab our red coaster wagon and walk us down to the Villard Public Library. We never went to bed without a nighttime story, and when it was cold she would warm our jammies in the dryer so we could enjoy our stories even more.

She was a fantastic chef and always had tabbed pages of new recipes she wanted to try.

She adored music — everything from Andy Williams to the Ink Spots to The Bee Gees.

She loved traveling and casinos. She taught senior computer classes in her 60s and helped her friend Rose wait tables at Rose’s Café in Springfield, Ore., when they got busy. She was in her 70s and 80s at the time.

Dee always loved learning something new and delighted in each day. We could say we would be just like her when we grew up but aren’t sure she ever did. To say she will be missed is a gross understatement.