Valerie A. Jewell

    Valerie A. Jewell, 87 of Woolrich, passed away on June 9th , 2025 at Eagle Ridge Personal Care Home after a brief illness. 

    She was born in Twickenham, England on May 21, 1938, the daughter of the late Ivy Booth Jewell and the late Charles Henry Jewell. She was raised in the towns of Whitton and South Harrow, both suburbs of London. 

    She attended local schools and Hendon Technical College prior to beginning training as a nurse. She was a nursing student at The Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital and The Royal Free Hospital, both of Grays Inn Road, London. On graduation, she became a Staff-Nurse at The Royal Free Hospital, working in Orthopedic and OR departments. Later, in Glasgow, Scotland, she entered a Midwifery Educational Program and graduated as a nurse-midwife. On her return to her home area of Harrow, She became a District Midwife and was part of a service caring for women in their own homes for prenatal care, delivery and post-partum care. Three years later, in 1966, Valerie emigrated to Canada and spent a year in Pembroke, Ontario as a nurse on a Labor & Delivery Unit in a small, rural hospital. Later, she arrived in Kentucky, to be a part of The Frontier Nursing Service, a Midwifery School founded by Mary Breckinridge in 1925, which was a successful demonstration project on the care of women and children in rural areas. It was during this time that Valerie met Carolyn Banghart, an American educated nurse and nurse-midwife, who became her life long friend, companion and mentor. In 1970, Carolyn and Valerie moved to Baltimore, where Valerie obtained a Baccalaureate in Nursing from University of Maryland, and worked for the Baltimore City Health Department as a nurse and nurse-midwife. 

    In 1974, Carolyn and Valerie moved to the Lock Haven area, so that Carolyn could care for her aging parents. Valerie took a position as a nurse in the Labor and Delivery Unit of The Lock Haven Hospital and became a citizen of the USA in May 1976. Later, she gained a Graduate Degree in Nursing from The Pennsylvania State University and practiced as a nurse-midwife in an OB/GYN Group in State College, Pennsylvania. In 1980, Carolyn and Valerie set up a Home Birth Service for the Amish in the area of Lock Haven. The Amish had moved in from the Lancaster Area, and desired home birth services, if possible. They continued this service, with appropriate Medical back-up until 1991, when Valerie took a nurse-midwifery position inMississippi. Carolyn was already retired and accompanied Valerie to Mississippi. 

    On Valerie's retirement in 1999, they returned to the Lock Haven area and settled in McElhattan. Carolyn died in 2009 and four years later, Valerie moved to Woolrich, where she lived a contented retirement at Rich Manor. 

    Valerie is survived by her brother, Christopher C. Jewel of Ashford, Kent, England, a nephew Richard and his family, a niece Joanne and her husband, all residing in England. She is also survived by Lyn and John Banghart of Easton, Maryland, who have been dear and supportive friends over the years. Finally, she is survived by many other kind friends, too many to mention but greatly loved and appreciated, especially Christine Dolan and the Staff at Eagle Ridge Personal Care Home. 

    She was a long time member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Jersey Shore. Burial will be in Linnwood Cemetery next to Carolyn and her beloved dogs, Emily and Susie. 

    Arrangements are entrusted to Frederick B. Welker Funeral Home, Jersey Shore. www.WelkerFuneralHome.com

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