Dr. Luis Valdes

Dr. Luis Valdes, age 83, a resident of Novi, Michigan, passed away peacefully in hospital from cardiac failure on Friday, February 25, 2022. He formerly resided in Brevard, North Carolina; Winter Park, Florida; and Pella, Iowa.

Dr. Valdes was born in Havana, Cuba, on January 9, 1939. He graduated from Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York in 1956, and received his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor of Philosophy

degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. During his undergraduate years, he was a member and captain of his college fencing team. In 1963, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to

study in Brazil, the first of three Fulbright Scholarships that he would ultimately be awarded.

Dr. Valdes was married to Sonja Van Dusseldorp from 1958 to 1969, and they had three children. He then married Josefina Murphy Valdes in 1971, to whom Dr. Valdes was married until his

death. Dr. and Mrs. Valdes had two children.

Dr. Valdes taught Political Science and related subjects at the undergraduate and graduate levels

throughout his career, with positions at Central College in Pella, Iowa; Universidad Interamericana in San

German, Puerto Rico; and Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he was a professor for 31 years

until he retired in 2002. In 1979, Dr. Valdes received one of ten U.S. State Department grants for special

State Department briefings on Latin American Affairs. Dr. Valdes was awarded his second Fulbright

Scholarship in 1981 to teach undergraduate courses on U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America and conduct

a graduate seminar on U.S. Policy and Paraguay and Nationalism, at Catholic University in Asuncion,

Paraguay. His third Fulbright Scholarship was awarded in 1986 to teach at Universidad Catolica Madre y

Maestra in the Dominican Republic. Both in and out of the classroom, Dr. Valdes was passionate about

domestic and international politics, with a particular interest in U.S. national security. He also had an

affinity for classical music and history, and he was an ardent patriot.

In addition to his wife Josefina, Dr. Valdes is survived by his five children: Tanya Valdes, Tina Valdes

Spencer (Raymond), Rick Valdes (Satoko Sakai), Adriana Valdes Vlasic (Paul), and Luisa Alexandra Valdes Cortese (Steven); nine grandchildren: Ryan DeVries (Rachelle), Cory DeVries (Yvonne), Asha Spencer (Dan Cooper), Sonya Spencer (Michael Maggiore), David Spencer, Ethan Spencer, Eugie Valdes, Adam Paul Vlasic and Martha Ione Vlasic; and six great-grandchildren: Reanna DeVries, Rose DeVries, Maverick DeVries, Indie DeVries, Laurel Cooper Spencer and Sienna Maggiore. Adored grand dogs include Pippa, Lily, Ivy, Melton, Perry, Cam, and Oscar.

Predeceasing Dr. Valdes were his parents Luis Enrique Valdes and Antonia Dominguez.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 12:00 PM on Monday, March 21, 2022, at Church of the Holy Family in

Novi, Michigan. A Memorial Mass followed by a committal service will begin at 10:00am on Friday, June

3, 2022, at the Rollins College Chapel in Winter Park, Florida. Please make donations in memory of Dr.

Valdes to the Wounded Warriors Project. Cards and memorial acknowledgements can be mailed in care

of Adriana Vlasic, 38710 Woodward Avenue, Suite 200, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302.