WAYNE – Valeria O. Walton Wood, 74, died at her home in Wayne, on Sunday, March 13, after a brief illness. She was surrounded by her family as she made her final journey.

She was born in Wayne, on Jan. 27, 1931, the daughter of Warren and Laura (Thompson) Walton.

After graduating from Livermore Falls High School in 1949, she joined the U.S. Air Force, where she met her first husband. She moved with him to Greenville, Ohio, where she lived and worked there for more than 10 years, forming friendships that lasted her lifetime. It was in Ohio that her son, John, was born.

After returning to Wayne, she ended her career at the Maine Department of Human Services, from which she retired in the 1990s.

She was an active member of her community. She was a senior companion volunteer and a former Kennebec Valley Community Action and Hospice of Kennebec Valley volunteer. She was a member of the Friday Club, the Red Hat Society and the Historical Helpers at the Wayne Elementary School.

She loved working outdoors in her yard. She was an avid reader and liked to knit. She loved to travel to many places, and described herself as a “sun worshipper, a beach lover, and a lazy, hazy days of summer enthusiast.” She loved high school sports, and to be with her family, and she especially loved attending any sports events where one of her grandnieces or nephews played. Although she liked the way the Yankees had been playing baseball in the past, her heart stayed true to the Boston Red Sox, and so her heart sang after the playoffs and World Series in 2004.

She was a kind, thoughtful and generous person, loved by all who had the privilege of knowing her.

Mrs. Wood is survived by her son, John A. Wood and his wife, Valerie, of Turner; a brother, Robert M. Walton, of North Turner; and a sister, Lorna A. Doone of East Madison. In addition to cousins and other family, she is survived by a close and loving network of nieces, nephews and grandnieces and nephews: Stacey Fontaine and his wife, Emily, and daughter, Isabel, of Kents Hill; U.S. Air Force Capt. Lorinda Fontaine Farris and her husband, Doug, of Fort Meade, Md.; Cindy Walton Kenny and her husband, Gary, daughter, Hannah and son, Andrew, of Wayne; Todd Walton of Turner, and Warren Walton and his wife, Shannon, and son, Tyler, of Turner.

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