Valerie Ivy, 99, died peacefully at the Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 2, 2023.

Born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia in 1924, she was the only child of a Russian mother and an Armenian father who had emigrated as a teenager from eastern Turkey, escaping the Armenian genocide.  At age 5, her family emigrated from Stalinist Russia to northern Iran, where she spent most of her childhood.  She was educated at the French Catholic St. Vincent de Paul School in Tabriz, Iran and later attended boarding school at Ecole Jeanne D’Arc in Tehran, Iran.

In the 1940s, Valerie worked as an elementary school teacher and later as a secretary in the US Embassy in Tehran, where she met her future husband, Peter Ivy (Amherst College ’43) when he served in the US Army’s Persian Gulf Command.  Their romance blossomed when the Russian circus was in town, and she offered to translate his program into English.  After their marriage in 1947 at the American Mission Church in Tehran, they traveled by ship to the US, and settled in Philadelphia, PA, where they raised their 3 children.  They later moved to Binghamton, NY, and to Setauket (Long Island), NY, where Valerie worked as a secretary in the Ward Melville School District.

Valerie and Peter retired in 1993 to Pelham, MA, and in 2007 moved to the Applewood at Amherst retirement community.  They embraced and enriched their golden years with family, friendships, diverse hobbies, and travel within the US and abroad, often taking advantage of Valerie’s language skills in French, Russian, Armenian, and Farsi.  After Peter died in 2013, Valerie continued to pursue friendships and creative endeavors at Applewood.  She was a gifted quilter with keen eye for color, an avid reader, and an excellent cook and gardener.  Her ultimate joy was being surrounded by family, celebrating holidays, and cooking meals they would enjoy and remember.

Valerie is survived by her children Valerie and Andrew Steinberg, Elizabeth Read, Stephen and Robin Ivy; grandchildren Scott Steinberg, Jennifer and Colin O’Sullivan, Madlen Read, Samuel Read and Caroline Ciocca, Peter Ivy, and Lauren and Ryan Domenick; great grandchildren Devin O’Sullivan, Eric O’Sullivan, and Evelyn O’Sullivan, and many nieces and nephews.

Her family is grateful for the love and support of Applewood residents and staff over the past 15 years, and for the compassion and skill of the staff and volunteers at the Hospice of the Fisher Home caring for Valerie in her final days.

A celebration of Valerie’s life and 100^th birthday will be held in Amherst in June 2024.  Her ashes will be interred in the columbarium at Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst, where she and Peter were members of the congregation.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Valerie’s name to the Hospice of the Fisher Home (1165 North Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01002) or Smile Train (P.O. Box 96231, Washington DC 20090-6231).

Obituary and memorial registration at www.douglassfuneral.com.