Leon H. Valley

Rye – Leon H. Valley, 95, died Friday, March 1st, at Webster of Rye. Born June 19, 1917 in Lancaster, Mass., he was the son of the late Frank Alfred and Agatha Mary (Zehnder) Valley. He attended Lancaster schools and graduated from Lancaster High School as class president and valedictorian in 1935. That same year, The Yonder Hill Boys, a country and western band which he led, won the state-wide talent show in the Bay State. He had been a Rye resident since 1943, and returned permanently in 1945 to Rye after naval service in WWII. Following his schooling, he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Holyoke, Mass. area for two years, then began a 40 year career in shipbuilding, briefly at Sun Shipyard, Chester, Penna., and then for 38 years at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, where he rose through the shipfitter ranks to become a Structural Group Superintendent & Chief, Planning & Estimating. He also served as a Group Superintendent for 3 years at Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, in the 1970s. A natural builder of organizations, he served over 50 years in various positions for the Town of Rye, as Selectman, Budget Committee, Planning Board, Board of Adjustment, Recreational Committee, Historical Commission, Sewer Commission, Jenness Beach Precinct Commission, and the Jenness Beach Improvement Association. He was a founder of Rye’s first Cub Scout pack, Boy Scout troop, Pony League Baseball, and Lions Club. He was a board member of Webster of Rye, and a volunteer there and with Meals on Wheels, President, Seacoast National Association of Retired Federal Employees, President, St Theresa’s Mens Club, and moderator for Rye Civic League, Jenness Beach Precinct, and Rye Annual School Meeting. He was a member of the Rye Over 55 Club, Every Other Tuesday Club, the American Society of Engineers, and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. Leon Valley will be best remembered, when serving as Chairman, Rye Planning Board in the late 1960s, for writing the town’s first modern zoning ordinance, subdivision ordnance and building code and, as a member of a small committee of St Theresa’s Mens Club, which planned, raised funding, oversaw construction and managed the church’s new parish center in the 1980s. Mr. Valley was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Doris J. Valley, who died March 12, 1999, and his daughter, Nancy Jane Thompson, who died March 6, 1997. Survivors include a son, Bruce L. Valley, of Alexandria, VA., five grandchildren, Noelle Valley Milam of Roanoke, VA, Jennifer Hiemenz of Durham, NC, Christine Valley Marr of Scottsdale, AZ., Katie Thompson of Seattle, WA., and Douglas Thompson of Charleston, SC., Visiting hours were March 4, 2013 at the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory, 811 Lafayette Road, Hampton. A mass of Christian burial was celebrated March5, 2013 in Saint Theresa Church, 815 Central Road, Rye Beach. Burial was in Central Cemetery, Rye. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rye Historical Society (RHS), 10 Olde Parish Road, Rye, NH 03870. Visitation was held- Time: 5 to 7 P.M. Date: Monday, March 4, 2013 Location: Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory Address: 811 Lafayette Road, Hampton, NH Directions to Service Services were held - Time: 10 A.M. Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 Location: Saint Theresa Church Address: 815 Central Road, Rye Beach, NH Directions to Service Interment - Central Cemetery, Rye, NH

Leon H. Valley

June 19, 1917 - March 1, 2013