Goodbye to an Extraordinary Friend
It’s with great sadness that we share that our beloved Juanita Valentine passed away on May 28, 2018.
While many of you may not know this dear lady, so many did…and she leaves a void in our hearts and our organization that is impossible to fill.
Juanita has been part of PADS since before most of us can remember. She was on the board when our Executive Director Laura was first hired in the 90’s. She’s been one of our biggest champions and stopped at nothing to support PADS. On her 85th she skydived to buy us a new van. On her 90th, she did the New Years Penguin Plunge on the North Shore, again to raise funds for PADS. She never stopped!
While she has raised a lot of money over the years to support our programs, she was also one of our greatest advocates. In 2005, PADS created and awarded her with the Juanita Valentine Award, for her Outstanding Contributions to all aspects of the PADS program. It’s not an award we give out lightly or often.
Juanita was 94 this past January and before her battle with pneumonia, a few of us had a great lunch to celebrate her. She was a retired special needs teacher who for all her years worked to support ‘the kids’, PADS and the community. In November she celebrated her 55th year as a weekly volunteer with the Lions Gate hospital. PADS was just one of the many charities she supported.
She was loved by all who knew her, and we will dearly miss her spunk, her tenacity, but most of all her very kind heart.
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I first met Juanita in 1995 when Jonathan and I took on our first puppy to raise. Juanita was a rare breed – a truly wonderful lady and it is hard to think of her without smiling. She was at every PADS event that I can remember and always cheerful and gracious. Her energy and enthusiasm were boundless and set a wonderful example to all who had the privilege to know her.
