Valerie Jo Rhodes passed away in Fairfield, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2017 after battling stage 4 gastric cancer for a little over a year. Gastric cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Commonly called stomach cancer, gastric cancer grows slowly in the lining of the stomach in a pre-cancerous state for years and usually goes undetected. By the time there are symptoms, this type of cancer is almost always stage 4. At stage 4, gastric cancer cells multiply very quickly and the condition is hard to treat.
Valerie was born in Charleston, S.C. on Feb. 26, 1982. She was a Catholic. She graduated from Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, Calif., in 2000. In 2004, she graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in anthropology and linguistics. In 2010, she graduated from Solano Community College and became a Registered Nurse. In 2011, she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from California State University. She married Daniel Justin Rhodes on Apr. 17, 2011. She is survived by her husband, Daniel Rhodes, of Great Falls, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.; her parents, Jun and Luz Lumibao of Fairfield, Calif.; her brother, Charles Lumibao, of Fairfield, Calif.; and her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Allen and Marsha Rhodes of Nashville, Ark.Â
Valerie’s funeral will take place in the Philippines at the Parish of St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr Church with Fr. Oliver Mendoza officiating. Her final resting place will be beside her grandmother in the San Quintin Municipal Cemetery, Pangasinan, Philippines, surrounded by the Cordillera Mountains and the Lingayen Gulf.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made online at www.gastriccancer.org or made payable by check to The V Foundation (memo line: Gastric Cancer Research) and sent to Gastric Cancer Foundation, c/o The V Foundation for Cancer Research, 14600 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513.
