Valerie Flanagan (formerly Valerie Aitchison) born August 19th, 1950, passed away on Thursday February 6th, 2025. She is survived by her daughters Brianne Flanagan of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Brianne’s husband Ross Ciulla; Bridget Flanagan of Dedham, Massachusetts, Bridget’s significant Michael Callahan; and Michelle Tait (Aitchison) of North Carolina and her fiancé Mark Biladeau as well as grandchildren Jessica Tait, Samantha Tait, Cameron Tait, and Thomas Tait. 

Valerie spent her entire life in Nonantum, maintaining her ancestral home. She lived an exceptional life, filled with love from her dearly departed husband and best friend, Richard Flanagan who passed in 2021. They traveled the world together and she continued in that legacy since his passing. She lived every day to the fullest because she understood the fragility of love and preciousness of time. For Val, life was lived at the Red Sox game, at the Patriots’ championship parade, and at a slot machine in Vegas; she explored Alaska, Denmark, and Turkey; and she quite literally jumped into the waters of a Dominican rainforest, a Bahamian coastline, an Italian island, an Azorean Lake, and even the Bermuda triangle a time or two. 
Her life was filled with adventures and the people she not only invited but also insisted come along for the ride. If you knew her, she tempted you to go on a cruise, catch a ball game, or tag along on a trip to the casino. If Dick Flanagan was the rock, she was the roll. 

In her honor, we all ask that you please take that vacation you planned but never went on; please don’t save the quarter when you can spend it in the machine; and please open your heart to a friend in need of a home or a hug- cause that was at the core of everything Valerie Flanagan meant to the world. 
Instead of a memorial the family will be mourning privately and having a celebration of life at another time… probably with a cocktail, the way Val would want it.