Alfonso Vincent Valentino

Al was born in Brooklyn, New York, on New Year’s Day, 1927. He was a first-generation American, the second son and third child of Vincenzo Valentino and Viola DiGiulio. Al grew up in a three-story house shared by three families in the Prospect Heights neighborhood. At home, his family spoke Italian and Yiddish, which his father had learned by listening to neighbors talking next door and assumed was English. Although Al did not know English when he started grade school at St. Theresa’s, he had a facility for languages and learned quickly. During the course of his career, he became fluent in nine languages.

Al’s interest in electronics began as a hobby in elementary school. When he was 14, his father, a foreman at the Brooklyn Laundry, put Al and his older sister to work during vacations to help support the family. Throughout high school, Al continued to work whenever he could.

Al attended Boys High School in Brooklyn, known for its high academic standards, and graduated in January 1945. He joined the Army in February and, after completing field radio operator’s training, served in Europe. One of his assignments was as a patrol in the the occupation forces in Austria. There he was captivated by Vienna and developed a desire to see more of Europe. After being honorably discharged in 1946, he completed a two year course in Electrical Technology at the State University of New York, Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences at New York City. He soon moved to Washington, DC, to look for a job and worked for a while at the Naval Research Lab.

In 1952, Al began what he would soon realize was his dream job: a 28 year career with the CIA that took him to Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He started work in communications and eventually shifted into data processing as a programmer, systems analyst, project leader and instructor. His role in communications spanned many significant events in the early years of the Cold War. A later major overseas project was developing a data communications system for a government-contracted airline based in Taipei. In one of his stateside tours, he was responsible for preparing daily briefings for the President.

He met Mary Bowler, a State Department employee, in Belgrade. They married in Rome in 1954, and adopted a son, David. They lived overseas for much of their married life. Al retired from the CIA in 1980, and the family moved to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. After retiring from government service, Al continued to work in data processing and computer systems design and analysis for private business. Mary’s health declined, and Al cared for her until her death in 1984.

In 1986, Al met and married Sylvia Lawson, a widow, in Silver Spring. They moved to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1988, and designed and built a beautiful waterfront home in Martin’s Point. They both loved life on the Outer Banks and enjoyed a large circle of friends. Al started a computer consulting business, served on the Board of Directors of the Martins Point community, organized and was Chairman of the National Association of Federal Employees (Kitty Hawk Chapter), and was a data processor for the Forum Kitty Hawk, an entertainment organization. Al and Sylvia traveled to Asia, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Poland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hawaii, and the Caribbean as well as throughout the US. In 1988, they made a memorable trip to Rome, where they had a private audience with Pope John Paul II, who was a close friend of Sylvia’s sister, Mother Mary Amadeus.

In 2002, they moved back to Silver Spring and began a new adventure at Riderwood Village. Al headed the Performing Arts Council, served on the Resident Advisory Council, and was President of the Low Vision Support Group (and taught himself Braille). Al and Sylvia had a lively social life and often joked about being poster children for Riderwood. They frequented the Kennedy Center, the Olney Theater, and the University of Maryland Performing Arts Center. Al celebrated his 90th birthday at a party hosted by his family in Pennsylvania, followed by a trip to New York later that year with Sylvia to see the Metropolitan Opera.

Al was a brilliant and original thinker who, when asked, shared insightful observations on national and international affairs. He was unassuming, kind, compassionate, curious, even-tempered, and a devoted and supportive husband. He had a radiant smile and heart-warming laugh. His sister Mary remembers that even in childhood, he was always interested in helping those in need.

Al’s early family life instilled in him a love of music, and he played the accordion and harmonica. His musical tastes ranged from Broadway shows and classical to blues and bossa nova. He was especially fond of opera. He enjoyed computers and technology, long walks, cooking (and eating!), pottery, fishing, writing, and ham radio.

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Al was predeceased by his parents, his wives, and his niece Barbara Bowler Malmin. He is survived by his sisters Angie Valentino and Mary Hayes; his son David Valentino; his stepchildren Michelle Valentino, Michael Lawson, and Mark Lawson; his grandsons David Valentino and Stephan Lawson, granddaughter Danielle Valentino, and three great-grandchildren, Kaitlin Nunez, June Lawson and Leo Lawson, along with twenty seven nieces and nephews: Jim Hayes, Stephen Hayes, Joseph Hayes, Regina Grammatico, Michael J. Bowler, Paul Bowler, Michael Bowler III, Susan Bowler Golembeske, Patricia Llorca, John Bowler, Joseph Bowler, Maureen Bowler, Rebecca Hurford, Donald Hurford, Julie Hurford, Laura Hurford, Timothy Hurford, Letitia King, Lawrence Bowler, Mary Bowler, Michael H. Bowler, Thomas Bowler, Theresa Kuhlmeier, Kathleen Furgiuele, Joseph P. Bowler, John V. Bowler, and Joan Bowler.

Al’s family is especially grateful to his devoted home health aides, who cared for Al with genuine affection, his friends and neighbors at Riderwood, and his guide dog Buster, who was a constant companion from 2011 to 2020.

A celebration of life for Al will be held Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 1:30 PM at Riderwood Village, Town Center, 3140 Gracefield Rd, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hinesrinaldifuneralhome.com for the Valentino family. Memorial donations may be made to Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, 371 E. Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787.