Valerie Ann Oddy was born in Windsor, Ontario on February 21st, 1957. A few years later, she moved with her parents and three older siblings to Dorion where her younger sister was born. Valerie developed many life-long friendships with girls from her neighborhood in Dorion. As a child, she enjoyed tap dancing and horseback riding. Her favourite subject in school was Mathematics.
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Throughout her childhood and young adult life, Valerie was an avid horse rider. She worked in stables and rode ponies and horses whenever she could. She went from riding bareback and even barefoot to winning ribbons in dressage horse shows. She later passed on her passion to her children who both went on to become riders.
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It was at a horse stable that Valerie met the love of her life. Evert's humour, kindness and strength swept Valerie off her feet and they married in the summer of 1982. Together, the newlyweds travelled the world following Evert's Olympic sailing career, all the while building a home and business back in St-Lazare, Quebec. Valerie made many friends abroad and continued to cherish her friendships at home. She worked at EB spars and often carried the entire business while Evert was sailing abroad. She continued her passions of riding and dancing.

Valerie gave birth to her daughters in 1986 and 1988. As a mother, Valerie wanted her girls to have the world. Nicole and Kaci were blessed with a mother who always wanted the best for them. Valerie and her family lived in the same house in St-Lazare for 26 years. She  enjoyed hosting holidays, birthday parties and BBQ's. She took her girls to their riding lessons, to their sailing practices, and to their drama rehearsals. She made dance costumes, wrapped presents and helped with French spelling tests she couldn't pronounce. She poured her heart and soul into her family.

Valerie was fortunate to have opportunities to take many memorable trips with family and friends. The photos speak for themselves. There were some wild girl trips, romantic trips and family trips. Some were in Europe, Australia, Florida, Bahamas and the list goes on... but the trips that were likely the most precious were the many short trips to the family condo at Owls Head. It was here that Valerie had a home away from home with only the most precious guests and memories which were cherished forever. Please know that if you ever came to the Owls Head condo, you were family to Valerie.
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In 2006, Valerie and Evert built their waterfront home in Hudson. By this time, Valerie had delved into the dog agility world with Lucas, her yellow Labrador. She was hooked. In 2008, Rocky was born, followed by Fionn in 2015 and Stormy in 2020. Guides Canins has been Valerie's home training Centre from the beginning. Over the years she made incredible friendships and developed a passion for a sport that gave her such energy, confidence and joy. In recent years, Valerie and Evert surprised everyone and took up trailer camping with the dogs. The trailer was useful for the dog agility circuit and also for vacationing. They travelled to many provincial and national parks enjoying the beauty around them. Valerie and Evert were often joined by their children, grandchildren and other family members.
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In the time leading up to her passing, Valerie spent her  mornings walking and training her dogs and she did paperwork at EB spars in the afternoons. She regularly visited Kaci in Montreal and she made a trip to Kingston to see Nicole and her family. Valerie was extremely excited about a once in a lifetime horse ranch trip she had planned with her sisters, Kathy and Krissy. In fact, the three sisters had gone shopping and bought matching plaid shirts just a week before Valerie's passing.  Kathy and Krissy plan to go on the trip with Valerie in spirit. Her beautiful soul lives on in all of her family, friends and beloved dogs.