Valerie Estey

Born in Ellwood City, PA on May 24, 1948, to John and Trudy (MacAllister) Wigton, she spent her school years involved in singing in the church choir, Girl Scouts and 4H.

Valerie is survived by her husband of 52 years Terry and her two daughters, Shannon (Eric) Williams of Hudson, MA and Erin (Paul) Tracey of Abington, MA. Her greatest joy in life was being a Grammy to Benjamin, Ella and William.

She is also survived by her two sisters, Melanee Sinclair (Bethlehem, WV) and Marcia

Pratt (Ellwood City, PA).

Valerie graduated from Geneva College with a degree in Music Education with double majors in piano and voice; she also completed Masters work in Choral Conducting. Valerie and Terry married in 1971 and spent their early years living in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah and North Carolina. Settling in Maine, they raised their daughters in Yarmouth. She taught piano and voice lessons in her home full time. In 1995, Valerie and Terry opened Songbird Creative Centers, a creative preschool. She loved being surrounded by children and was proud to offer various enrichment programs, such as dance, music classes, and summer drama camps. While living in Yarmouth, Valerie was also the Choir Director at the First Parish Church, President of the Village Improvement Society, and Welcome Wagon Hostess. Valerie instilled a love of music to all who knew her.

After retirement in 2016, Valerie and Terry moved to Massachusetts in order to be close to their grandchildren. Although she never got over the sale of her yellow colonial home in Yarmouth, she was happy to spend as much time with her grandchildren as possible, watching them play sports and perform in drama productions.

Benjamin remembers going out for lunch or getting ice cream with Grammy his “best friend” after a game, even when they lost. Ella loved going shopping with Grammy and baking cookies for their annual Christmas Cookie Extravaganza. William enjoyed watching scary movies and playing games, such as Yahtzee and Trash with Grammy. One of Ben, Ella and Will’s favorite summer activities was the Damariscotta “Chopped” cooking championships, complete with trophy.

In addition to spending time with her family, Valerie enjoyed reading, gardening, watching movies and a little retail therapy. Her summers were spent in Damariscotta where she loved sitting on the porch overlooking the harbor and taking pictures of the beautiful wildlife and sunsets surrounding her.

Family and friends are invited to attend a graveside committal service on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 11:00 AM at the Old Meeting House Cemetery, 25 Hillside Street , Yarmouth.

"Music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory". -Percy Bysshe Shelley

If you would like to make a donation in Valerie’s memory, please consider the following

charities: The Center for Grieving Children www.cgcmaine.org/donate or The Children’s

Museum & Theater of Maine www.kitetails.org