Reginald D Valentine

Reginald Donovan Valentine was born on April 12, 1951, to the late Judith M. Valentine. He departed this life on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Christiana Hospital in Wilmington, DE.

Reginald (affectionately known as Reg or Reggie) grew up in East Orange, Plainfield, and Rahway, NJ. He attended Rahway High School, where he played catcher for the Indians varsity baseball team, and graduated in June 1969.

He attended Essex County College, where he studied engineering before being called to duty and placed in the Army Reserves. He served actively in the Reserves from 1970 to 1993, achieving the rank of First Sergeant in the Supply and Service Company.

Reggie worked for Verizon Communications, formerly NJ Bell and Bell Atlantic, for 42 years. He began his career as an outside field technician and later advanced to Human Resources Manager. He was then promoted to Outside Plant (OSP) Engineer and, at various times, also served as a supervisor while in that role. He retired from Verizon in May 2013.

Reg was passionate about serving his community. Over the years, he contributed in many roles at the Eastern Union County YMCA. Not only was he a member of the Board of Directors, Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee, he also became the VP of the Board of Directors. After retiring and moving to Dover, DE, he worked part-time at Lowe’s, served as a substitute teacher in the Kent County, DE, school district, and was appointed by the Levy Court to the Kent County Board of Appeals in 2023.

In his spare time, Reg enjoyed bowling in a league, grilling, building and working with computers. He was enthusiastic about mentoring high school students through the Junior Achievement program, and Little League baseball was one of his great passions. He coached the Piscataway Little League Royals and served as webmaster and board member for Piscataway Little League between 2003 - 2013. He was also an avid chess player, enjoyed listening to jazz, loved good food and treasured vacations to Hilton Head Island, SC; Aruba; Spain; and Portugal. In his later years, he also became an avid golfer.

Reggie was predeceased by Wilhelmenia, his wife of 31 years, survived by his devoted wife, Debbie, of 6 years; his daughters, Lisa (Keith) Nix of NJ and Lynn (Tim) Graves; grandchildren - Nicholas and Zoey of MD; Valerie Wright (NE); bonus daughter Valerie (Andrew) Childress of VA; grandchildren - Najavi and Drew; and stepson, Glenn Wright (NC); grandchildren - Andre, Justin, Kyle, Marcus. He is also survived by his brother, Robert Valentine (IL); his sisters, Jacquelyn Valentine (DE) and Joann Valentine (NJ/DE); and a host of in-laws, relatives, and friends.