Valentine, Matthew "Matt" Age 71 of Oconomowoc, entered eternal life December 22, 2013. Matt was born November 23, 1942 in Chicago to Matthew and Marian (nee Lindbom) Valentine. He married Janet Martin February 18, 1967 in Chicago. Matt was a 1965 graduate of the University of Illinois. He was an insurance auditor at West Bend Insurance. He was very active in many capacities with the Summit Boy Scout Troop 49. He served in the Army from 1965 to 1967. Matt is survived by his beloved wife Janet, his loving son Matthew (Lisa) of Gurnee, IL. and dear grandchildren Jonathan, Ian and Aidan.
Paw Prints
by Mr. Matt Valentine
Paw Prints disappear
In the snow
As the droplets
Of warm spring rain
Melt the cold winter snows
Robins dance
Bluebirds return
Songbirds sing
Birds nest to
Welcome spring
And forgive winter
Flowers say hello
To the warm spring air
And promise to show
Some colorful delights
To the gardens who
Waited to see the
Snow fade
All are happy
Let's rejoice
One of Mr. Valentine’s favorite quotes: You can observe a lot just by watching. –Yogi Berra
Reflections
I thought Mr. Valentine’s funeral was very nice and I was honored to play TAPS at his funeral; he served our country; we should forever be grateful - he was a one of a kind; a gentleman, a leader and a mentor.
Every time I met him he always took everything he did seriously, he was able to teach me so many things about merit badges and Philmont. He always answered any question that I had about Philmont and he went out of his way to remind me of what to do so I was prepared for Philmont. Months before I left for Philmont, he encouraged me to buy good walking shoes and told me to start walking. The other scouts and I started to walk on a weekly basis to get our bodies in shape before our trip - this advice from Mr. Valentine really helped us be better prepared.
He was present at every meeting he could attend, he helped with merit badge questions and he was a man I enjoyed talking to. He was a wealth of knowledge.
I will never forget that once I delivered a wreath to his home and the next home I needed to go to was Mr. Marek's. I was not sure how to get there, Mr. Valentine said instead of explaining how to get there my mom should follow him in his car and he would take us to Mr. Marek's house. He took time out of his day to make sure we got to Mr. Marek's house without getting lost. How cool is that.
Men like Mr. Valentine are few nowadays, we all need to be thankful for what he has done for us besides his leadership. He started our troop again (think of all the great memories we have made and all of the good times to come). He has given us a trailer to allow us to camp, and he gave the dishwashing table. All of us love camping and that table!!! Thanks also for the two high adventure tents!!!
He will be missed but most of all, he will never be forgotten.
- Joey Neimon, Eagle Scout
Mr. Valentine was a counselor, caring father, a loving husband, and most importantly a kind man. Every scout in Troop 49 whether they know it or not were touched by Mr. Valentine's presence, whether it be through a merit badge, rank advancement, camping equipment, or even some words of encouragement. He guided many scouts along their trail to Eagle. I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Valentine for a short time (less than one year) and the honor of attending his funeral. It was while I was while I was attending the funeral that my image of Mr. Valentine became clearer. I was awestruck that a man could have so many accomplishments like completing Philmont a number of times and the ability to express his love for scouting and everything else in his life in his artwork and poetry. From being an artist to being a caring father Mr. Valentine’s legacy will be felt and remembered by each and every scout of Troop 49.
- Trenton Ruffalo, Troop Historian
Matt Valentine, a Eulogy - by Mr. Ed Marek
Mr. Valentine became involved in Boy Scouts some 35 years ago and it all started with Troop 49 and continued on throughout the years without taking a break. He served the troop in many ways; as an Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, Committee Chair, Public relations, merit badge counselor, our Unit Commissioner and mentor to 57 Eagle Scouts including his son Matthew in 1985. With the number of additional scouts, parents and adult leaders- it is easily in the high hundreds in the troop alone. In our district he served many years as a Unit Commissioner for other troops and Cub Scout packs. For 25 years he was our District Chair for Scouting for Food. During this time he was awarded the District Award of Merit and then our Council’s highest award: the Silver Beaver Award. He believed in being a trained leader so he went to Wood Badge where he was part of the Antelope patrol. He was happy to hear that when I attended Wood Badge I was in the Antelope patrol. I think this was so when it came time to sing the Wood Badge song during a beading ceremony or at the Wood Badge breakfast he wasn’t the only one standing to sing the Antelope part.
There were times when Matt and I would talk about what the adult’s role in scouts should be, and we would say that “we have succeeded if we can make a positive impact on at least one scout”. Mr. Valentine’s impact was much higher than just one scout. When the troop went camping or on a high adventure trip, if there were any questions or concerns, he either had the answer or he could tell us where to find the answer, sometimes it was as easy as “go to REI”. He was serious most of the time but if you were fortunate enough to see it he had a sense of humor. The stories of his adventures; one time going to Boundary Waters and running into a bad storm and how he and Allan Kastelic had to sew a sizable tear in a tent or when he went to Philmont or going to Camp Gardner Dam or Camp Long Lake he could always tell us something funny that went on; either what a scout did or what an adult did.
Many times over the years when a scout needed a place to build part or build his entire Eagle project, he had the necessary wood working tools at his house so into his garage everyone went and let the building begin.
The scout motto is “be prepared”, he was always prepared, sometimes over prepared, but he made sure everyone was prepared. There is a line in the scout oath that says “to help other people at all times”- that was Mr. Valentine. He was very generous, earlier this year he bought two high adventure tents for the troop. I have no doubt that his legacy will go on for a very long time in Troop 49 and in our district.
Earlier Troop 49 presented the Valentine family with our troop flag. This is the flag that flew over every campout over the last 5 years. Considering how much Mr. Valentine did for us we felt it was fitting that his family would have it.
Over many years Mr. Valentine made some lasting donations to the troop, including the purchase of our current troop trailer, several High adventure tents, our original Timberline tents used on all weekend and summer camps, and the Camp kitchen sink and Dutch ovens.