Paula Valente

SOUTH PORTLAND – Paula Valente passed away at her home in South Portland on April 7, 2023, after a valiant battle with cancer.

She was born in Buffalo, N.Y., the daughter of Frank and Lucy (Tronolone) Valente. She joined her older sister, Janet, and a large, loving family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends, who, together with her parents, nurtured her. Their love inspired and sustained her throughout her life. The values which guided Paula’s life were rooted in this family and her Catholic education.

Paula graduated in 1970 from Canisius College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She set out to find a path from which she could make a difference in the world. Paula’s first position was with the American Red Cross at Walter Reed Army Hospital, working mostly with injured Vietnam Veterans. From Walter Reed, she moved on to Capitol Hill, serving as a legislative aide in a Congressional office where the primary issues of the day were Watergate and the Vietnam War.

In 1979 Paula earned her Master of Public Administration degree from George Washington University and began a career in local government management.

She was fueled by both passion and compassion, by a sense of purpose and community service, all founded on a value system guided by her innate integrity. Paula was always ready to take on a challenge if it could help communities thrive and enhance people’s lives. Paula became a difference-maker in an indifferent world.

Paula’s varied and extensive career included positions as City Manager of Auburn Maine, Second Vice President for Federal Relations for the Unum Corporation, Chief Lobbyist, Maine Municipal Association, President/CEO of the Maine Health Care Association, President of the Institute for A Strong Maine Economy and Executive Director of the Greater Portland YWCA. Paula ended her career in Buffalo as Associate Vice President for Development at Canisius College and Chief Development Officer at Medaille College before returning to Maine in retirement. She brought well-informed positions, disciplined reasoning and persuasive communication skills to every position.

However, she was much more than an accomplished executive and leader. Paula was that friend you made and kept for a lifetime. Paula’s joy in others was boundless, and her family and friends sustained her. She even became close and caring friends with her caregiving team over the last seven years of her battle with cancer.

Paula was a social animal ever hosting or joining in on dinner gatherings, quick to laugh, ready to engage in important conversations of our day, and ever ready to travel to exotic lands, including trekking in Patagonia, exploring Machu Picchu, as well as visiting her family’s ancestral home in Italy. She took countless trips back to Buffalo to reconnect with family and friends and often spent holidays with her sister, Janet and her late husband, Harry in Wichita, Kan.

Nearly four decades ago, Paula owned her first dog, Chaucer, a handsome, engaging English Springer Spaniel. She may have owned him, but he owned her heart. Chaucer was followed by a string of others to the very latest heart stealer- Miss Honeycombe, a beautiful, lovingly devoted Australian Labradoodle. They gave back as much love as they got, and it was always a joy to see Paula with these amazing pets.

Her Catholic religion gave her a deep-seated faith in a loving God, a God Paula knew walked with her on every step of her life’s journey.

Paula’s unwavering grace, resiliency, and joy of living day in and day out throughout her more than seven years of treatment served as a powerful example to those of us privileged to share time with her. She was a beacon of faith, always living with a welcoming heart and cheerful smile.

Recently a darling 8-year-old neighbor left a bouquet of fresh flowers and a note on Paula’s doorstep- the note, written with a child’s crayon, simply said, “ You are the best neighbor ever.”

For those of us privileged to know Paula- she was the best daughter, sister, friend, colleague, or neighbor ever!

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St Michael’s Church, 651 Washington St, Buffalo, N.Y., on May 6 at 10 a.m. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A reception in Portland, honoring Paula is being planned for a later date. To view Paula’s memorial page, or to leave an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to

Catholic Charities,

307 Congress St.,

Portland, ME 04101 and

Canisius College,

2001 Main St.,

Buffalo, NY 14208