Ann Elizabeth Valdes, 82 of Roanoke Rapids passed away Saturday, November 21, 2015 at her home of natural causes.
She was born on February 8, 1933, in Sturgeon Bay, daughter of Arno Henry and Antoinette Winfred DeMers Bahr.
Ann graduated as Salutatorian of Sturgeon Bay High School, Class of 1951. She graduated with a B.S. in Sociology from the University of Stevens Point, WI, in May of 1991.
At 12 years old, while living in Sturgeon Bay, she met her future husband, through her friend Joyce Jorns, his cousin, while he was staying at his grandparents’ farm in Egg Harbor. {Joycie called him “Quinny” - it sounded like Kinny -so it would later end up as “Kenny” or “Ken”.}
They would start dating in their teens but have a time of separation while he went off to war.
While he was away, Ann moved to Milwaukee, WI, to become an instructor at Arthur Murray School of Dance. She loved to dance but when he returned from Korea, he proposed and they got married on February 5, 1955.
Shortly after that, they relocated to Crandon, WI, where her parents and brother had moved.
Ann didn’t stop dancing when they moved, but changed from ballroom dancing to Square Dancing and even taught her husband how to dance as well.
Eventually she gave up career dancing shoes for comfortable shoes to become a beautician and own her own “Beauty parlor” until children started to come along. Ann and Quintin were married for 5 years before she became pregnant with their first child, James Kenneth, who was born in June 1961. She got pregnant again within a year but sadly lost a boy at 3 months old. Her next pregnancy followed with twin girls, JoAnn and Diann, born in September 1963. Donna followed even closer at 18 months when she was born in Feburary 1965. They took a longer break before adding their “baby” child, Barbara in February 1968.
They moved to Antigo in 1972 to open “A & K Liquor Mart.”
Ann loved to have her children’s friends around. When they built a new house in 1976, it was often filled with many kids. They also loved animals and took on raising horses and other assorted animals including dogs, rabbits, hamsters, many cats and even Jo’s lab rat.
When all the kids left, Mom got “empty nest” syndrome and decided to head back to school when Barb left for Madison.
She would end up graduating in May of 1991 from UW Stevens Point. In 1993, after years of dealing with the frigid temperatures of northern Wisconsin, Ann and Ken sold their house and moved with their belongings to Roanoke Rapids, NC.
Ann worked for a few years at the Catholic Church in RR as a secretary, but after getting very sick in 1995, she met a woman, Becky Hanks, who would change her whole focus on the importance of natural healing through herbs. She spent several years going to different seminars and classes to be a Certified Natural Health Professional.
She would eventually start and run her own business, Nature’s Wonders. Even when she had to move her business home, she never stopped helping people when they would ask her. She passed that belief and love of natural healing to her daughters.
Ann was raised in the Catholic faith but was always searching for something more. She found that in her personal relationship with Jesus in the mid-90’s and once she was saved, she prayed for her children and grand-children’s salvation as well. She felt like that was The Most Important job that God had given her and loved to learn more about Him through women’s studies and reading her Bible.
Ann is preceded in death by her husband, Quintin “Kenny” Valdes; both of her parents; and her brother, Richard “Dick” Bahr of Fond du Lac, WI.
She is survived by her children Jim and his wife, Julie; JoAnn and her husband Steve Brantley; Diann and her husband Doug Moore; and daughters Donna and Barbara; grandchildren, Christopher Valdes, Nathan Valdes and Jennifer Valdes; her brother-in-law Kenneth Valdes and his wife, Joanne Engel of Milwaukee, WI; sister-in-law June Bahr of Fond du Lac, WI; and 3 beloved cats Twinkles, Sugar and Tabby.
Memorial services will be held 5:30 P.M. Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at Valley Community Church with Pastor David Schmaltz officiating.
There will be a time of visitation before and after the service starting at 5 PM and ending at 7 PM.