Valanta Gale Taveirne

Our beloved sister and friend Valanta Gale Taveirne was born on June 3, 1959, in Pasadena, Texas. She passed away unexpectedly in her home on February 23, 2024.

Valanta attended South Houston High School, where she was a very talented violinist. She was invited to play her violin with the Houston Youth Symphony. Upon graduation from high school in 1977, she received a music scholarship to attend Sam Houston State University, where she made the Dean’s List and continued her studies until being offered a position with Houston-based energy insurance adjuster Rush Johnson Associates. She spent the rest of her working career with firms involved in oil and gas industry insurance.

Valanta was preceded in death by the love of her life, David Michael Taveirne.  Valanta and David were married February 19, 2005, and participated together in various volunteer activities until David's passing in 2017 following a courageous three-year battle with brain cancer.

Valanta and David volunteered on many projects, including those for the Houston Mariners Club, Houston Marine Insurance Seminar, Desk & Derrick Club of Houston, and Houston International Seafarers Center, to name only a few. As members of the Kansas City Southern Historical Society, they also volunteered for many years as “elves” on the railroad's annual Holiday Express train, which raises money for the Salvation Army. She was a lifetime member of the Houston Mariners Club and she also volunteered and coordinated the organization's Annual Chili Cook Off for many years.

Valanta and David were also very involved in the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, serving as president of the organization and also for many years as an active member of the chapter's board of directors.

Valanta was also preceded in death by her father Troy Galloway Sr., stepmother Sharon Galloway, and her father-in-law Robert Taveirne. She is survived by her immediate family: mother, Mavis Ilkenhans; sisters, Sherry Wilson (David) and Rhonda Rackley (Ronnie); brother Troy Galloway Jr. (Melissa); nephews, Les Fuqua (Sam), Chris Brooks (Miranda), Jaron Galloway, and Kavan Galloway; nieces, Jennifer Brooks, Cady Wilson, and Rebecca Rackley; great nephew Dexter J. Brooks; and other beloved in-laws; dear friends; AND a multitude of beloved “adopted” nieces and nephews. She loved ALL of her nieces and nephews, blood or not.  She will also be terribly missed by her dog Bella.

Valanta was the type of person who never met a stranger.  Although she had no children, she took care of everyone. She affected every person she ever came in to contact with and would uplift perfect strangers every chance she had with her bright and infectious smile.

A celebration of life will be held in Valanta’s honor on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Deer Park Funeral Directors, 336 San Augustine Blvd., Deer Park, Texas. Memorial Donations may be made in her honor to the Gulf Coast Chapter - National Railway Historical Society, Inc., or to any charitable organization.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Valanta Gale Taveirne, please visit our floral store.