Valerie Ann Brain (nee Wondergem), age 51, of North Haledon, went home to be with her Lord, on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She spent her final moments at home surrounded with love by her family and friends.

Raised in Wayne by her parents Clarence and Anna Wondergem along with her three brothers, Valerie attended Eastern Christian High School where she graduated with the Class of 1984. While in school she enjoyed being a cheerleader for the boys’ soccer and basketball teams. Following graduation, she worked in the family’s auto dealership – Borough Jeep, formerly of Prospect Park and later located in Wayne. She ultimately retired as one of the co-owners, so that she could concentrate her efforts on being a great mom.

It was at Borough Jeep that Valerie met the love of her life, David Brain. Dave was one of the dealerships mechanics and they started off as friends taking a ride up to High Point State Park in Sussex on Dave’s Kawasaki 900 Ninja. Dave recalled that their first “official date” was to a pizza parlor somewhere up Route 23, but being too love-struck at the time, that was all he could recall. The love was mutual and so Christmas Eve, 1996 seemed like the perfect time for Dave to ask Val for her hand in marriage. She said yes and ten months later, on Saturday, October 11, 1997, they exchanged their wedding vows before God, family and friends at the Preakness Reformed Church in Wayne. After a beautiful honeymoon in Negril, Jamaica – a place they would come to love and visit frequently over the ensuing years – they settled into their home in North Haledon where Val remained to the present.

One of the most blessed events of Val and Dave’s life together was the birth of their daughter Tara Ann in 2002. Valerie lovingly and enthusiastically dedicated herself to being the best mom she could be. She must have done a great job because Tara considered her mom to be her best friend and she’s rightly convinced that her mom always had her best interest at heart. Valerie and Tara did all kinds of things together. When Tara was a Girl Scout, Valerie became a Girl Scout mom. When Tara played town softball, Val was her best cheerleader. In fact, she was Tara’s whole team’s best cheerleader. Valerie always gave Tara the best advice and she was her greatest encourager. For example, when Tara was going to start first grade, she was feeling a little scared and apprehensive as first graders typically will do. So, on Tara’s first day of school, Valerie took a black sharpie pen and drew a heart on the palm of Tara’s hand. Then she told Tara, “There! Now I’ll be with you all day long. If you miss me, just look at this heart on your hand and I’ll be right there.” This really touched Tara and it became a tradition that went through ninth grade when Val was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. On the day of the diagnosis, Tara took that Sharpie pen and began a new tradition - drawing a heart on Valerie’s palm to remind her that Tara was always there for her through her illness.

If you asked Valerie about favorite pastimes, she’d more than likely mention shopping as an activity near the top of her list. Favorite stores included Marshalls in Wyckoff and Target in Riverdale. She also loved to shop in Lancaster, PA when she, Dave and Tara would go for a family getaway weekend and while there, Val loved catching a show at the Sight and Sound Theatre. In the early years of their marriage, they enjoyed summer vacations in Myrtle Beach South Carolina and, of course, there were those memorable repeat trips to Negril Jamaica.

The Brain family was a family of animal lovers but Valerie was probably the greatest of all. She gave new meaning to the term “kitten rescue”. The whole family got in on this humanitarian effort and with Valerie leading the way, they rescued over 70 kittens. After trapping the stray felines in the remote-controlled traps that Dave designed and built, the kittens were quarantined, brought into their home, bathed, brought to the vet for exams, and then socialized. When they were ready for a good and loving home, Tara photographed the kittens and the local shelters used her excellent photos to advertise online. The kittens that Valerie and company offered for adoption through the shelters were the predominant favorites for over four years in a row.

Early in their marriage, Valerie and Dave attended Jacksonville Chapel in Lincoln Park. Under the pastoral care of Reverend Earl Comfort, Valerie truly grew in her walk with God and, for Pastor Earl’s teaching and shepherding influence in her life, Valerie was eternally grateful. In 2003, Valerie, Dave and Tara joined the faithful family at Cornerstone Christian Church in Wyckoff so that they could be there for Dave’s mom. Val and Dave served and supported Cornerstone’s ministry by volunteering as weekly Sunday school registration and security coordinators.

In all of her life’s pursuits, Valerie had a gift for making friends along the way. She could easily befriend complete strangers. For example, one night, while out for dinner in Jamaica, Val spotted a couple with a daughter around her own daughter’s age. The father had a bandage on his finger. As they were leaving the restaurant, Val struck up a conversation with the family which led to a long-lasting relationship. The family was from Nebraska and they and the Brains coordinated future vacations together. Val also made friends with many of the hospitality workers in Jamaica. Getting to know them on a first-name basis, she loved to bring books and other things for them to enjoy. It was the same way with the families that adopted their rescued kittens. Val would establish friendships and, through the beauty of Facebook, she kept in touch with the kittens and the families that adopted them. She even made friends with the health workers at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, at the chemo center in Basking Ridge, and at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ where she received hospice care.

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister and great friend, Val was a lot of fun to be with. Always ready and willing to help, she was a great example of what it means to have a servant heart and her dry and sort-of odd sense of humor often gave family and friends a good laugh. Life in North Haledon won’t be the same without seeing a maroon colored Jeep Wrangler with “Valerie” vanity license plates riding around and knowing it was Val behind the wheel.

Valerie is survived by her beloved husband David; her beautiful daughter Tara Ann Brain of North Haledon; loving mother Anna Wondergem of North Haledon; dear siblings: Wayne Wondergem of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Kenneth and wife Carrie Wondergem of Tallahassee, Florida; and brothers-in law and sister-in-law: Robert and Anna Brain of St. Augustine, FL, Bill and Donna (nee Brain) Babb of Suwanee, GA, James and Maureen Brain of Pompton Plains, and Jane Wondergem of Mahwah. She was predeceased by her loving father Clarence Henry Wondergem, and her dear brother Douglas Wondergem.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Valerie’s name are asked to consider Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center, PO Box 227, Hawthorne, NJ 07507 (online at FriendsofLighthousePRC.org/donate), or Eastern Christian School Association, The Foundation for Eastern Christian School, 50 Oakwood Ave., North Haledon, NJ 07508-2449 (online at easternchristian.org/support).