Dorothy “Dot” Valentini passed away peacefully on May 6th 2022 with her family by her side. She was born and raised in Lakewood, New Jersey and attended Lakewood High School, class of 1965. Dot had a long career with the Ocean County Security Department beginning June 1980. She rose through the ranks to become a Senior Guard, a Supervisor, Chief of Security, and then the Assistant Director of Security in June 1996. She retired in July 2012. Early on in her career, Dot went through the Ocean County Police Academy, graduating as the only woman in her class, then briefly joined the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. As a single working mom, Dot managed to fit all the busyness, happiness, and challenges of life into a 24 hour day, while always providing unconditional love and support to her only daughter, Tara Marie. Dot was a worker, strong-willed, brave, determined, and a beautiful woman inside and out. She was compassionate and easily shared her love with all those who loved her. She enjoyed time with her family and her pets. She loved the beach - she was known to spend hours in the sun listening to the ocean while reading her book. She enjoyed traveling and was able to see many wonderful places with her husband, Michael. She enjoyed music and a really good pizza from Maruca’s on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights. Christmas was her favorite holiday to celebrate; she always made home into a Christmas Wonderland for her daughter and her family.
Dot was a loving and devoted mother, wife, sister, mother-in-law, nana, cousin, aunt, and friend. She will be deeply missed by all. Dot was predeceased by her loving parents, Marjorie and Howard Morris Jr. of Lakewood, her husband, Robert Giddings, and her brother-in-law, Frank Viola. She is survived by her devoted husband, Michael Valentini, her beloved daughter, Tara M. Giddings Dombroski and her husband Mark, her grandson, Matthew Robert Dombroski, her sister, Joanne A. Viola, her sister-in-law, Marguerite Valentini, nephew, Mark Valentini, niece, Tracy Bryan and her husband Jeff, and grand niece, Alex Conforti. She is also survived by her cousins, Cathy Martin, Mary DeBenedictis, Margie Longo and her husband Bob, Howard Hinck, and Jan Peterson.
Visitation will be held on Friday, May 13th 2022 from 4 - 8pm at the D’Elia Funeral Home, 1300 Vermont Ave, Lakewood NJ 08701. There will be a funeral Mass at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church, 43 Madison Ave, Lakewood NJ 08701, on Saturday, May 14th at 10:30am. Following the Mass, committal services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dot’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital @ stjude.org or to The Jersey Shore Animal Center in Brick NJ @ jerseyshoreanimalcenter.org.
