Valere Roger Dion, 88, of Englewood,
Fla., passed away on March 1, 2024, at his home with his loving wife,
Kay Aldrich Dion, at his side.
A
small service will be held at Roberson Funeral Home, 2151 Tamiami
Trail, Port Charlotte, FL, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. That would
have been his 89th birthday. Visiting hours will be from 2 to 4 p.m.
There will be a service held in Vermont on a later date.
Valere
was born in Winooski, Vt., on his grandfather’s farm on March 7,
1935, to Roland (Fay) and Philip Dion. He graduated from Cathedral
High School in 1954. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1955 and served
active duty on the USS Antietam for two years. Valere was in the U.S. Naval Reserve for six years. He
married Helene Limoge in 1960, and they raised their five children in
Burlington. He joined the Burlington Fire Department, where he served
for 30 years as a fire marshal and later retired as the chief of
personnel. He met the love of his life, Kay Aldrich, and they were
married on February 14, 1986. Val and Kay had 38 wonderful years
together.
Valere
was predeceased by his parents; his sons Thomas Pierre and Stephen
Paul; his sister-in-law Sally Dion; and his brother-in-law, Ray
Beauchemin.
Valere
is survived by his wife, Kay; son Matthew Dion; daughter Melissa Dion
and her husband, Ken Carter; daughter Nicole Bauman and her husband,
Todd Bauman; and his siblings, Jeannine Beauchemin, Roland and Julie
Dion, and Raymond Dion. Valere had four stepdaughters, June Alvarez
(Juan), Susie Miller, Stacey Miller and Ann Shimmel (Don). Val also
had several grandchildren, stepgrandchildren, great-grandchildren and
great-great-grandchildren. In addition, he had many nieces and
nephews.
Valere
enjoyed camping. Val and Kay traveled the United States and Canada,
enjoying the outdoors and French Canadian music. Although proficient
with many instruments, the fiddle was his passion. He played with
numerous musicians and was a judge at many fiddlers’ contests.
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 5, 2024.