In the early morning of May 10, 2021, a bright light in this realm was dampened, but that light remains ever strong in our collective memories, and shines in her three children. Our daughter, sister, wife, mother, and loyal, caring friend, Valerie Jane Pratt De Jong, began her final journey. Her courageous battle with cancer is over, but her constant, infectious love of life prevailed. She was a real trooper who never gave up no matter the odds.
Valerie was born September 11, 1975, in Bentonville, Arkansas, the daughter of Charles and Helen (Pope) Pratt, granddaughter of Harry and Irma (Smith) Pratt and Lt. Col. John J. Pope (US Army, Ret.) and Marguerite (Gavere) (Pope) Terbush.
Valerie attended elementary schools in Bentonville and then at John Eaton Elementary in DC, followed by six years at and graduation from the Edmund Burke Preparatory School in NW DC. She and her sisters worked as servers at Bob’s Ice Cream in Cleveland Park and on Capitol Hill in DC. She spent her Junior year of high school in the Netherlands as an exchange student living with her host family, Jacques and Gonnie Miltenburg and sisters, Renata and Mirese, in Erp, The Netherlands. She quickly learned Dutch by immersion, studied, biked, traveled and came to love her host family. It was a year of personal growth expanding her horizons and giving her confidence and the spark of independence.
Determined to develop a mastery of Dutch, Valerie chose to attend Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She met Dan De Jong there, and they were united in marriage July 12, 1998, at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver, Washington. Dan and Valerie were living in Portland, Oregon, where she was attending a year course at the Culinary Institute of America (eventually achieving an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts), and working early mornings as a pastry baker at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Dan and Valerie moved to Denver, Colorado, where she got her Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Colorado at Denver, and Dan got his Law degree from the University of Denver.
Their family was started with the birth of a daughter, Annelies, in Denver, followed by Aidan in DC, and Milan in Charles Town, West Virginia. The family settled in West Virginia, children in school, Dan commuting into DC working at an accounting firm, and Valerie running the household, making friends, being a soccer mom and volunteering. She even became a Yoga instructor. Valerie loved to travel, visiting Europe and Asia several times with family and friends. Her friendships remained strong and lasting.
In early 2016 Valerie was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to her liver. She chose to fight the cancer hard. An aggressive surgery successfully removed all observable cancer from her body. Valerie fought through an aggressive chemo treatment to be declared cancer free by the end of 2016.
A move was made back to DC in July 2017, when Valerie moved to a residence not far from her mother, and very near where her Grandmother Terbush had lived. Valerie was back home in the city which also provided good opportunities for the children. Annelies graduated from high school, and was soon off to college in NYC.
Then the real battle with cancer began in 2018 and included many trips to Georgetown Hospital in DC and Sloan-Kettering in NYC for treatments and consultations. A cutting edge radiation treatment eliminated the tumor that had formed in her liver, freeing her from the grips of cancer again. In early 2021 the cancer came back again. This time the medical treatments could not slow down the growth of the tumors.
When Valerie knew the battle was to be over soon, she made known her wish to spend as much of her remaining time at the beach, where she always found peace and enjoyment, so her family and friends could visit her. Her wish came true. She spent most of her last weeks of her marvelous life in a beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware, surrounded by family and friends from near and far. She was accepting of her mortality and was at peace. She passed quietly, peacefully, with a smile on her face at “home” in DC on May 10, 2021. We, family and friends, mourn her passing, celebrate her time with us, and hold dear many fond memories.
Valerie is survived by husband, Dan; children, Annelies, Aidan, and Milan; parents, Charles Pratt (Lalla Tigges) of Bentonville, Arkansas, and Helen Heggestad (John) of Washington, DC; brothers, Gregory Pratt (Kristine Smalling) of Bend, Oregon, and John Walton Pratt of DC; sisters, Vanessa Pratt Harris (Vince) of DC, and Lisa Pratt Wilkerson (Kenny) of King George, Virginia; four nephews, one niece, four grandnephews, and three grandnieces; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Bart and Ellen De Jong of Jenison, Michigan; and many loving and caring friends.
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