Valerie Lynn Overton, 46, of Mardela Springs, MD went home to be with the lord on Monday November 25, 2024, surrounded by her family, at TidalHealth in Salisbury, MD. Born on November 1, 1978, in Baltimore, MD, Valerie was the daughter of Terri J Rivero and the late Lance D Cook.
Valerie moved to Mardela Springs in 1991 and graduated from Mardela High School in 1996. She gave birth to her son, Joshua, on July 7, 1999, and went on to have her daughter, Kailey, on January 27, 2003. Devoted to giving her family the best lives she could, Valerie went back to school to study Accounting at University of Maryland Eastern Shore and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in 2007. With a stellar career, she would go on to achieve her Master of Science.
After raising her two children into college, Valerie met her loving partner, Justin White, and became an amazing mother to his teenage son, Rustin. She spent her days laughing and rejoicing at her home alongside her mother and two brothers, Lance Cook and Alfonzo Rivero. On March 12, 2023, in her proudest achievement, Valerie stood alongside her daughter as she brought her grandson, Jackson Messick, into the world.
Valerie’s love for those around her was incomparable. She started her mornings drinking coffee with her mother, spent her days with her grandson, dedicated her afternoons to her children and fiancé, and cackled at night with her brothers. Valerie was known for treating friends, and friends of her children, as her own blood. She enjoyed getting everyone together for holidays and loved creating memories at amusement parks or haunted houses. Not a second went by that she did not live her life to the fullest. Valerie’s nickname was Sunshine, and she was just that for anyone who came to know her.
Valerie is preceded in death by her father, Lance Cook, and her grandparents, Donna and Roy Salyards, Audrey Cook, and Jay Cook.
She is survived by her mother, Terri Rivero and her husband Juan; her children, Joshua Overton and Kailey Overton (David); her grandson, Jackson Messick; her brothers, Lance Cook and Alfonzo (Tabitha) Rivero; her nieces, Lyla Cook, Ava Cook, Isabella Rivero, and Arya Rivero; her nephew, Aiden Rivero; as well as many other aunts, uncles, and cousins.
A funeral service for Valerie will be held Friday, December 6 at 11:00am at Emmanuel Wesleyan Church in Salisbury, MD. Pastor Eddie Elms will officiate. Interment will follow at Mardela Memorial Cemetery. Those who knew her may visit Thursday Evening from 6pm-8pm at Bounds Funeral Home on East Main Street in Salisbury.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Valerie to a GoFundMe account to help offset funeral expenses: https://gofund.me/be1d0308.
Visit www.boundsfuneralhome.com to share stories and memories of Valerie with the family.
