John Merle Valentine

John  Merle Valentine, of Lakeside, Arizona, died at his home on January 10, 2017. John was born in DeKalb, Illinois on June 12, 1938 to loving parents Merle Stevens Valentine and Lorraine Eleanor Larson Valentine. The family moved to Arizona when John was about seven years old and his brother Richard was five.The boys had an ideal childhood. In a time when local resorts closed up for the summer, Merle was the only year-round employee and caretaker at Jokake Inn (now the Phoenician). They grew up in a luxury resort among winter visitors such as Zha Zha Gabor, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, and others. They had access to swimming pools, tennis courts, horses, and the limitless desert around the tiny town of Scottsdale, Arizona to explore. John vividly remembered when the first stop light was installed in Scottsdale.As he got older, he spent some of his favorite summers working on his Uncle's farm in Illinois. Later, during college, he worked for the Forest Service at Lassen National Park in northern California.John graduated from Scottsdale High School on May 28, 1957, and from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1961. His first teaching job was in the Watts section of Los Angeles, where he taught for two years and left the year before the infamous Watts riots. He moved to Show Low in 1963. He taught for a year in Snowflake and for the remainder of the decade in Show Low, where he established the first Industrial Arts program.  The remainder of his teaching career was spent at Glendale Elementary School in Glendale, AZ.John and Judy were married on August 28, 1971, when they combined their two families into one big one , with children aged 3, 5, 6, and 9. In the days when The Brady Bunch was a favorite TV show, they were known as The Valentine Bunch. Favorite activities included camping out with the kids, fishing, hunting, boating, and just about anything outdoors.  Later, John and Judy took great joy in traveling the country, first by air, compliments of eldest son, Mark, who worked for the brand new airline, America West, then later by RV.John always loved the White Mountains, and in 1996 he and Judy were finally able to realize his dream of moving back.  They moved to Lakeside and remained there for the rest of his life.John is survived by his wife, Judy, and four children; Mark (Elizabeth), Lisa Fahringer (Glenn), Kimberly Knox (David), and Brett (Jennifer); brother, Richard; 12 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, who loved their Grandpa dearly.All children loved him. No matter where he was, even in a roomful of total strangers, at one time or another every small child in the room would approach him and climb onto his lap, or show him their toy, or just be with him. Tiny as they were, they instinctively recognized the inherent kindness and grace of this good man.  The world is a poorer place without him.Memorial contributions may be made to White Mountain Hospice Foundation, 1789 W. Commerce Drive, Lakeside, AZ  85929.A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday March 25, 2017 - 3:30 P.M.  at "The Gathering Place" in Pinetop, Arizona