Beloved Father and Grandfather, World War II Veteran & Realtor John J. Valentine, 92, passed away on August 9, 2016. Relatives and friends are invited for visiting hours on Thursday, August 11, from 4 to 8 P.M. at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home at 145 East Mount Pleasant Avenue, Livingston. A Prayer Service will be offered on Friday, August 12, at 10:30 AM. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover. He was born in New York City and served in the Army in World War II as a T-5 Corporal Technician in the European Theater, primarily in Holland with the 204th Infantry (Timberwolf) Division. He received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Services Stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, American Service Medal, and Army of Occupation Medal with German Clasp. After the war, Mr. Valentine attended Pace University and worked at Chubb & Sons, Inc. in its Finance Department. In 1957, he moved to Livingston, where he raised his children with their mother, Tina Valentine. He was a member of the Livingston Auxiliary Police Department, the Knights of Columbus Council in Livingston, and the Livingston VFW. He was a music enthusiast, saw Sinatra at the Paramount, and was even the Garden State Distributor of the DiscoScene magazine, a forerunner to Rolling Stone. Mr. Valentine moved to Roseland in 1979. There he was President of Valentine Associates as a successful commercial realtor and a former Board of Directors member of Stonegate of Roseland. He was the former Commander of the Roseland Military Order of the Purple Heart and would visit veterans at local nursing homes. He was honored in 2009 as the Senior Citizen of the Year in Roseland. Surviving are his son, Ron Valentine, his wife Betsy (Kostibos) and their children, Craig and Jenna; his son, Mark Valentine, his children, Jonathan and Alexia, and his wife Sonia (children Andrea, Alyssa); Tina Valentine; his sister, Lucille Cestaro; and his longtime partner, Rose Brady and her family.
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