Valerie Burroughs Coley, surrounded by family, died peacefully and went to rest with her Savior on July 2, 2022 in Dallas, Texas.
Born Valerie Lynn Burroughs on March 29, 1960, she was the younger daughter of Willard Marion and Leona (Dannewitz) Burroughs. She graduated from Plano (Illinois) High School in 1978 and from Illinois State University in 1982. Growing up, she was an avid softball player, saxophonist, a “pom pom girl” for her high school drill team, and a loyal friend. In college, she was an active member of Kappa Delta sorority, and she maintained friendships both from her school days and her sorority until her death.
Shortly after graduating college, Valerie moved to the North Texas area to be closer to her older sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces. She began teaching elementary school in Royse City, a career she loved until her retirement in 2018. While teaching in Royse City, she met James (Dan) Coley who also taught there, and they were married on August 8, 1986.
Soon after their marriage, they moved to Alpine, Texas, where both she and James taught in Alpine ISD schools. It was in Alpine that their first child, James, Jr., was born. After four school years far away from family in West Texas, Valerie and James moved back to North Texas, where they welcomed their daughter, Rebecca Lynn.
Valerie would continue to teach third grade in Greenville ISD for eight years before moving to B. B. Owen Elementary School in Lewisville ISD for the fall of 1999. She would teach there for her final 19 years. She retired after the 2017-2018 school year just in time to be available to spend more time with her granddaughter, Coley Lynn Ellis, who was born in January of 2019. Valerie soon became a devoted “Grammie” who loved to babysit and spoil baby Coley and, later in 2021, baby Ryann!
When she was not teaching or babysitting, Valerie loved to read, to travel with her family, to spend time by the pool and to cheer on her beloved Cubbies.
In February of 2021, Valerie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which she fought with bravery and perseverance. Her dedication to helping others learn, to making the world a better place than she found it, and to always being there for her family will never be forgotten.
Valerie was preceded in death by her grandparents, her father (1979), her mother (2007), her older sister Bonita Charlene Davis (2006), brothers-in-law Jerry Davis (2016) and Richard Coley (2022), nephew, Ryan Coley (1987); and her granddaughter Beni Lynn Ellis (2016).
She is survived by her husband of nearly 36 years, James Daniel Coley of The Colony, Texas; her son James Daniel Coley, Jr. (Matthew) of Josephine, Texas; her daughter Rebecca Lynn Ellis (Megan) of Melissa, Texas; her granddaughters Coley Lynn and Ryann Bailey Ellis; her brother-in-law, Don Coley; sisters-in-law, Peggy Coley and Sue Coley; her nieces Laura Roberts (Mika) and Carrie Davis (Jason) of Greenville, Texas; her nephews Richard Coley, Jr. (Missy), Bryan Coley, and Jason Coley (Jenny) of Denison, Texas; and her great-nephew—whom she considered to be her first grandson—Connor Layne Davis of Greenville, Texas.
One of Dan and Val’s favorite songs was I Want to Stroll Over Heaven With You by Alan Jackson. We know she is now in Heaven waiting on the day when she can “stroll over Heaven” with her husband “some glad day.”
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, July 8, 2022 at Melissa United Methodist Church, 3851 McKinney Street, Melissa, Texas 75454 where she was a devoted member. Following the service, a procession will make its way to Ridgeview Memorial Park for a committal service.
The family will receive family and friends during a visitation on Thursday afternoon from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Turrentine-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013.