Valeria was born April 9, 1923 in Schulenburg, Texas to the late Ignac “I.J.” and Frances Cernosek. She graduated from Schulenburg High School in 1940, after which she completed the Pathfinder-Gregg Secretarial Course at the Truman & Smith Institute, Columbus, Georgia in 1942. She worked for the United States Civil Service Commission for the United States Department of War at the Army Air Forces facility that would later become Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. There, she met and later married her husband, Clayton E. Cheever III on February 21, 1949 in San Antonio, Texas. Her greatest heartache was losing her first child, but soon after had another child, a son in 1952. She accompanied her husband throughout his 27 years of service in the United States Air Force to military facilities located in Austin, Texas, Wiesbaden, Germany, San Marcos, Texas, Waco, Texas, Canal Zone, Panama, and Washington D.C. After her husband’s retirement from the military as a Chief Master Sergeant in 1972, they returned to Austin, Texas. Valeria was a member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Catholic Family Fraternal of Texas-K.J.Z.T., and several Hallmark Ornament Clubs.
Valeria left the small town of her birth and never looked back. The “War Years” were hard, yet there was fun on the home front with work related social events to break up the long hours supporting the war effort. With her husband she enjoyed kinship and social activities with other families in the close-knit military life. With each relocation in her family’s ever-changing life, she made each new house a home as a refuge from the new surroundings. She had three great loves, which were traveling, Christmas and her family. Travel was the fulfillment of her boundless curiosity and endless quest for adventure and experiencing new things. She achieved her goal of visiting all 50 states along with Panama, Canada, Mexico, and much of Europe. She made Christmas a magical time by filling the house with special treats, gifts and decorations that dazzled and overwhelmed. Above all she sacrificed and gave unconditionally to her boys, both husband and son. As a wife, she both loved and supported and as a mother, she protected, taught, sacrificed, and always had his back. Her boys loved and spoiled her all they could, but she was deserving of so much more.
Valeria wept every day since her husband of 65 years passed away on April 21, 2014. As husband and wife they had a wonderful life together and always loved each other with all their hearts. Their mutual love will continue as she rejoins him in eternity. Her son and only remaining relative, Clayton E. Cheever IV, will somehow survive and miss her greatly. In addition to her parents and husband, her daughter, Marilyn Ann Cheever, sister, Henrietta Smrkovsky, and sister-in-law, Alice Carpenter preceded her in death.
Services and interment will be at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 2 P.M.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenchapelofthehills.com for the Cheever family.
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