Valerie Michelle Widdison, 46 of Denton, TX, formerly of Flagstaff, AZ, was born in Charleston, Illinois on June 12, 1972.  She moved to Flagstaff when she was six weeks old where she lived for 43 years before coming to Denton, Texas in 2015.  Valerie was born with Tuberous Sclerosis, a disorder that can cause retardation, brain tumors, kidney tumors and lung disease all of which Valerie had at one time or another.  Valerie passed away on August 25, 2018 of kidney failure.

She attended Special Education classes in the Flagstaff Public Schools graduating from Coconino High School in 1991.  She sang in the Concert Choir at Coconino High School directed by Doug Riddle.  Valerie loved to sing and sang the National Anthem twice for the Phoenix Cardinal games in 1990 and 1991.  One of her lifetime joys was bowling and she began bowling when she was nine years old.

Special Olympics made it possible for her to learn other sports, also. She was Arizona's only Special Olympics figure skater and participated in the International Special Olympics Winter Games in Lake Tahoe in 1988 when she was 16. When she was 23 she went to the International Special Olympics Summer games in Connecticut as part of a women's volleyball team from Flagstaff. She was given a plaque by the City of Flagstaff that same year for "contributions to disability awareness in Flagstaff." In 1988 Valerie was named Outstanding Special Olympian for Arizona.

Valerie worked as a courtesy clerk at the Cedar Avenue Safeway from 2003 until 2014 and never missed a day.  Valerie was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She is survived by her mother, Marie Widdison, two brothers, Hal and wife Grace Carrillo of Sioux City Iowa and Tony and wife Amy Cobb of Corinth Texas, sister, Diana and husband Steven Sapp of Phoenix AZ and was preceded in death by her father Dr. Harold A. Widdison in 2012.

Funeral Services will be Thursday, August 30, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Teasley Chapel in Denton, Texas.  Interment will be at the Flagstaff Citizen Cemetery in Flagstaff, Arizona on September 8, 2018.