Raymond Valente Sr., or Ray or Senior as he was known to his friends, died at the age of 91 at Mountain Vista Senior Living Center on May 6.
Survivors include his wife, Elaine, sons Ray Jr. and Mark, daughter-in-laws, Linda Valente and Paula Valente, granddaughters, Jaida Paolini and Gia Valente, grandson-in-law, Alessandro Paolini and great granddaughter, Marcella.
Ray was a community mainstay, owning and operating Valente's Italian Restaurant, at 38th Avenue and Reed Street in Wheat Ridge for 44 years, and Marc's Restaurant, also on West 38th for 18 years.
"It's so hard to pick a favorite memory with my dad," Mark said. "I'll always remember playing golf with him, and the holiday and family dinners. Those were some of the nicest times."
We attended Ray's celebration of life at Wheat Ridge's Sons of Italy to speak to those who knew him best, about their favorite memories and what they will miss most.
1. Don Pergola: "I was Ray's first pizza maker in 1964, and I worked for him from junior high basically through college. He was always so funny, and was the hardest worker I ever met. I'm going to miss his laugh and leadership."
2. Irene Fanning: "I've known Ray for 50 years. I went to the same school as him and I saw him at the restaurant all the time. Our families went to Italy together and we did business together for years. I still miss his restaurants."
3. Jerry Mollendor: "Our families go way back, and we used to see each other all the time. For so many years we had all our parties at Ray's restaurants. He was just a prince. He had the gift of talk, and he never met a stranger."
4. Robert and Roberta Lusso: "He had an absolutely beautiful personality."
5. Paula Valente: "I met Ray for the first time at his restaurant when I was probably eight or nine years old. I couldn't have hand-picked a better father-in-law. He was generous, loving, just a great man. He loved everybody. I'll miss that big voice of his."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://wheatridgetranscript.com/stories/Longtime-restaurateur-Ray-Valente,213865?branding=15
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