Ellene Ida Mae Valenta

Ellene Ida Mae (Hertel) Valenta, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great grandmother, passed away at 801 Gramman House in Beeville, Texas, on Friday, April 5, 2024. She was 93 years old.

Ellene was born January 23, 1931, in the Candlish Community, Bee County, Texas to Otto Paul Hertel, Sr. and Lillie (Koerth) Hertel. She married Felix Rudolph Valenta on February 2, 1952. They were blessed with one son and two daughters, who they raised on their family farm.

As a child, Ellene grew up working in the fields picking cotton on her parents’ farm. She was not a fan of picking cotton, and she knew that getting an education was her ticket off the farm. She attended first through eighth grade in a one-room schoolhouse, where she learned to speak English. She graduated from A.C. Jones High School in 1948, where she was elected “Most Likely to Succeed.” Ellene received her Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education from Texas Lutheran College in 1952. One week later, she married Felix Valenta, learned how to drive a car, and started her first job in education as a basketball and volleyball coach, school secretary, and math teacher in Skidmore, Texas. After leaving Skidmore, she continued her successful math teaching career in Beeville, Texas. She taught at A.C. Jones High School and Thomas Jefferson Junior High School. In 1982, she received her Master of Education from the University of Houston-Victoria. After retirement in 1990, she taught part-time at St. Philips School and mentored student teachers from Corpus Christi State University. She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Beeville where she served as a Sunday school teacher and Sunday school superintendent, church board officer, and a member of the ladies quilting circle. In Beeville, she was an active member of Women’s Investment Group, Texas Retired Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma, Beeville Vineyard, and Bee County Republican Party. She was also a docent for the Berclair Mansion. She had a passion for numbers, spending time with her family, serving the Lord, teaching others mathematics, playing dominoes and Scrabble, and completing crossword puzzles.

She was preceded in death by her parents Otto and Lillie Hertel; her loving husband of 45 years, Felix Valenta, who passed away in 1997; and her brother, Otto Hertel, Jr.

Survivors include three children, John (Patty Bates) Valenta of Berclair, Nancy (Don) Liska of Beeville and Ann (William) Warwas of Yorktown; three grandchildren, Jennifer (Michael) Crownover, Joshua (Megan) Valenta and Allison (Cody) Young; her brother, Milton Hertel of Angleton; eight great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.

Visitation will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Faith Lutheran Church in Beeville, Texas followed by a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Gary Conklin officiating.

The family asks that memorial donations be given in her honor to Faith Lutheran Church, 1500 E. FM 351, Beeville, TX 78102; Beeville Vineyard, 201 N. Monroe, Beeville, Texas 78102; or a charity of your choice.

The Valenta family wishes to thank Linda Smith, Anysia Gomez and all the employees of 801 Gramman Assisted Living for the loving care they provided for the last six years as well as Exclusive Home Health & Hospice.