Valerie Anne Staab Chipman was born Aug. 26, 1958 in Augusta to George A. Staab and Mary L. Staab. She, her parents, and brother and sister shared many happy years together in their home in Jefferson.
Valerie attended Lincoln Academy and participated in cheerleading, track, and every music-related club available. She became a skilled sight-reader and often accompanied her classmates for chorus or band on piano or organ. She and her brother attended separate colleges and she spoke fondly of the weekends they would all spend back home with friends.
Valerie met Jeffrey Chipman while they were both studying piano at the University of Southern Maine, and they became engaged shortly after. She loved to tell the story of how they met on a piano bench, performing a duet for a course. After earning her bachelor’s degree in music education, Valerie married Jeff and had two daughters, Larissa and Marielle.
Valerie and Jeff’s shared passion of music led the family to the First Congregational Church of Durham, where they worked together for many years, with Valerie directing the choir and organizing ongoing weekly music as well as holiday performances for the congregation and community. In addition to the Durham Church, Valerie taught music at the Vineyard Christian School, was the organist for St. Giles’ Episcopal Church in Jefferson, and substitute taught music frequently in the Lisbon and Harpswell school systems, often taking on long-term sub positions.
Valerie was a skilled artist and loved to create. When her daughters were young she developed an interest in working with stained glass and got quite good at it, making gifts for family but also selling commissioned pieces. Later she shifted into making “paper art” and sea glass art, which her family and friends will be familiar with, creating a catalogue of beautiful, unique pieces throughout the years which she loved to give away.
Valerie believed strongly in democracy, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the fundamental equality of all people. She believed fervently in justice. It was important to her to stay informed on current events and to, if she thought necessary, inform others, always staying calm and kind with her responses.
She loved to write and was very good at it. Her writings included songs, poems, short stories, emails, memoir-like ramblings in journals accompanied by drawings, and social media posts.
Her generosity knew no bounds and she regularly donated to causes she believed in and individuals she saw struggling, whether she knew them or not. She adored animals and had many beloved cats and dogs throughout her lifetime, always the happiest with a cat on her lap. Her personality sparkled with warmth, friendliness, and acceptance. She was loved by so many.
Valerie is survived by her loving husband, Jeffrey Chipman; her daughter and son-in-law, Larissa and Charles Smith; her daughter and son-in-law, Marielle and William Jacobs; her granddaughters, Gabrielle Michaud and Jordan White; her siblings, Robert Staab and his wife, Peggy Staab, and her sister, Kathleen Staab; her mother-in-law, Joanne Chipman; and her brothers-in-law, Andy Chipman and Stephen Chipman, and their significant others. Valerie also leaves behind beloved aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and hundreds of friends whose lives she touched immeasurably.
Valerie was predeceased by her parents and sister, George, Mary, and Deborah Staab; her grandparents, George H. and Helen Staab, and Eleanor Kate and Bryan Hodgkins; her cousins, Ronald Staab and Anne Scofield; her father-in-law, Merwin Chipman; and many others whom she looked forward to seeing again.
