Obituary: Valerie Randall, of Stonington Borough

Stonington — Valerie Randall, 58, of Stonington Borough, died unexpectedly on Feb. 28, 2014 at her home.

Valerie was an artist, photographer, writer, graphic designer and an optimist. She moved to Stonington Borough in November 2012 from California, and quickly became an integral part of village life. She became a friend to many and family to a lucky few. She loved living in small town New England, and celebrated it every day. Her photographs of Stonington and surrounding communities have become very well known and treasured.

Valerie was born on April 15, 1955 in Alaska, the daughter of the late Richard and Aramanda “Corky” Randall. Her father was in the Air Force and so the family moved quite a bit, including time in Japan and Vermont before settling in the late 1960s in Livermore, Calif. Valerie spent most of her life in northern California, where she had successful careers as a graphic designer, creative director, commercial illustrator and fine artist. She did illustrating for army training films, coloring books, brochures, textbooks, greeting cards, packaging, and became specialized in three-dimensional design, which led to a five-year teaching career at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Valerie was the principle of two successful San Francisco Bay Area design firms, with a client list that included Broderbund, Charles Schwab, Levi Strauss, AT&T and Pacific Bell. Always a digital camera enthusiast, she was at the forefront of digital scrapbooking and a partner in two successful digital scrapbooking companies, Scrap Girls and Happy To Create.

In Stonington, Valerie again created a successful life, making great friends, becoming part of the Yellow House Coffee and Tea Room Breakfast Club, doing photography for the charities Sails Up 4 Cancer and Horses Healing Humans, and painting. Her love of New England’s seasons, and Stonington in particular, was evident in all her photography, much of which was done with only her iPhone. Her work remains on display at the Yellow House on Water Street and at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic.

She is survived by her brother and his wife, Skot and Judy Randall of San Ramon, Calif., and their children Ashley Randall, Dana Pawlak and Arron Pawlak; and her brother Mark Randall of Castro Valley, Calif. She was predeceased by her two beloved and crazy dachshunds, Mothra and Godzilla.