Harriet King Valentia 

Sacramento, CA

Harriet Valentia (AKA Harriet Martin) passed away peacefully on June 30th, 2022 at the age of 88 after a fruitful and very creative life. Harriet was born on September 16th, 1933 to Arthur and Dorothy Cook and grew up in Puyallup, Washington. She was energetic early on and earned the nickname “Buzz” before she started college for the way she would “buzz around like a busy bee” on her bicycle. She attended several colleges, including the University of Washington and earned a Bachelor’s Degree well after she had become a mother and worked in the printing industry. Harriet married Murray W. Martin and had three children: Stephen, Matthew and Mary. She was a dedicated mother, managing everything from her children’s medical and physical cases to their educations and athletic activities. Mom was resilient and helped all of us through Mary’s recovery from multiple surgeries and the loss of Stephen at only 23 years of age in 1978. Harriet loved education and though she took breaks she completed curriculums in Sports Management, Criminal Justice and was licensed in Insurance Sales. She achieved multiple Certifications and a Masters degree in her 70s. She wrote plays, musicals, and many, many songs and told many amazing stories and recounted amazing experiences. Mom loved weaving suspense into her chapters within her stories and often shared these plot twists with us on road trips and when a situation in a movie reminded her of one of her own stories. Harriet married again: Enrico Valentia who sparked her creativity and romance while living in the Sacramento area. Harriet loved sharing time with her children and their families, her grandchildren (Cole, Paige, Alex, Andrew) and great grandson, Carter. She was an inspiration to her friends and family and her compassion and passion were passed along to all who knew her. She will be missed, but her spirit lives on in all of us! No doubt she is BUZZING in Heaven!