Leona Bea Valentine Godfrey, of North Platte, NE, returned to her Heavenly Father at the age of 63, on Monday, May 29, 2017, at Great Plains Health in North Platte.

Leona was born in Ogallala, NE, on August 23, 1953, to Cecil Harvey and Wilma Allison Gessford Valentine, the fifth of eight children. Leona was raised on the Gessford ranch, near Arthur, NE, which her father sharecropped with his father-in-law, Charles Gessford. Leona spent much of her childhood jumping on hay stacks in the haymow and climbing on chicken houses, even though both activities were frowned upon by her parents. She also spent may days in Arthur with her grandparents, Judge Charles Marion and Anna Mable Gessford, and had many memories of serving tea to Mable’s friends and helping in their little garden.

In 1971, Leona graduated from Arthur County High School. She liked to say she was pretty sure she graduated in the top 10 of her class, since only 12 graduated that was a good possibility. Leona then moved to North Platte to attend junior college and somehow her grades improved after she met Wayne Godfrey, a man who she said, always brought out the best in her. The couple married on July 25, 1975, in North Platte.

For their honeymoon, the young couple planned to attend a church camp, then three teens were unable to find acting guardians for the week, so Wayne and Leona “adopted” them, and another couple called the lodge and asked to share a room with them…They started out with three teenage daughters and roommates on their honeymoon, and things never really changed. That’s pretty much the definition of Leona and Wayne’s life together.

The couple were youth leaders for the church and those young people became their family. They took many youth groups on church history trips as far east as Niagara Falls, Canada, west to the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, as well as passion plays in North Dakota and Arkansas.

Along with her church activities, Leona dreamed of working with special needs children and was able to do so when she worked for the Educational Service Unit #16 for seven years. ESU was a very special place to be a part of.

Things changed for Leona and Wayne when their children, Erin and Jared, completed the family. Leona became a stay at home mom and Wayne became pastor of the church while also starting his own business, Lighthouse Cabinet and Woodworking. When Erin was seven, she had a tumor which closed off the oxygen to her brain, causing her to have seizures. The immediate fix was for Leona to begin home schooling to keep Erin up with her class, and that fix lasted the next 14 years and allowed Leona to watch her own children learn and grow, which she loved.

Leona even taught the local home school group’s Speech and Drama Class, and at the coaxing of her daughter, coached the girl’s basketball team. She took youth field trips with the Lighthouse Christian School to destinations such as an Indian reservation in New Mexico, the Tetons, St. Louis Arch, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and many other places.

After Erin and Jared were grown, they convinced Leona to try home health care, which she did for several years. Her last job was just across the driveway from her home, so she was forced to walk to work, even on the coldest of days.

In 2013, Erin and Calvin Hobbs elevated Leona from just a mother to a grandmother, with the birth of Calli Danielli, who became one of her greatest joys in life. Wayne and Leona were blessed to be able to have Calli in their care several times, and enjoyed it immensely.

Those left to mourn Leona’s passing include her husband, Wayne, of North Platte; their children, Erin Danielle (Calvin) Hobbs, of Apple Valley, CO, and Jared Israel (Kimberlee), of Fort Collins, CO; her delightful granddaughter, Calli Danielli Hobbs; sisters, Shirley Garner, of Trenton, NE, and Marjorie (Gary) White, of Lincoln, NE; brothers, Walter (Linda) Valentine, of Omaha, NE, and Olin (Denise) Valentine, of Centennial, CO; sister-in-law, Sheilah Valentine, of Arthur, NE; brother-in-law, Dale (Rita) Godfrey, of Oak Grove, MO, and Larry (Nancy) Godfrey, of Lonejack, MO; special families, Norm and Kathy Morash and their daughters, McKenzie, Megan and Madison, and J.W. and Linda Flentje and son, Andrew; as well as many nieces, nephews and other family.

Leona was preceded in death by her parents, Cecil and Wilma Valentine; sister, Sharlene; brothers, Harvey and John Valentine; sister-in-law, Irma Valentine; brother-in-law, Doug Garner; and one special nephew, Brandon Valentine.

Cremation was chosen. Memorial Service will be 11 a.m. Friday, June 2, 2017, at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore. The memorial book may be signed at odeanchapel.com or prior to the service at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore, which is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials are to the Restoration Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ.