After a long battle with cancer, Valerie Lee Eastman, 77, originally from Brooklyn, New York, daughter of the late Charles and Charlotte Lewinstein of Lake Worth, Florida, passed away peacefully Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at her home in Delray Beach, Florida, surrounded by family and friends at her bedside.
Her funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, March 15, 2015, in the Chapel of Bowen Donaldson Home for Funerals with Rabbi Moshe Elbaz officiating. Valerie will be laid to rest at 12:00 noon Sunday, March 15, 2015, at the Hebrew Evergreen Cemetery in Fitzgerald.
The family will hold Jewish memorial services at their home for three nights, March 16, 17 and 18, 2015, in the evenings at 7:30 p.m.
A memorial service will also be held at the Seagate Country Club in Delray Beach, Florida on Sunday, March 29, 2015, at 12:00 noon.
Valerie moved to Tifton in 1963 with husband Leonard Eastman, where she lived and raised four children. One child, Cheryl Eastman predeceased her in 1980. She is survived by her loving husband, Leonard Eastman; her sister, Walda Cross; three children, David Eastman (wife Jennifer), Melissa Miller (husband Brian), Mindy Klein (husband Steve); eight grandchildren, Jennifer Klein (husband Ben Birnbaum), Nicole Klein, Andrew Klein, Samuel Miller, Caroline Miller, Charlie Miller, Lauren Eastman, and Charles Eastman.
Valerie was very active in both Tifton and Delray Beach, Florida. She was the president of the Tifton Woman’s Club and a member of the Magnolia Garden Club. She was very involved in the Tifton Arts Council, serving on the planning committee for the Love Affair and led the Tifton Museum Auxiliary. Valerie placed great value on art in education and often purchased art to be placed in the Tift County Public Schools.
Mrs. Eastman worked tirelessly for the Foundation for Educational Excellence, scheduling the volunteers for the Summer Accelerated Reader Program. She conducted fundraising for many organizations including the Foundation of Educational Excellence, Name of Grays League of Ribbons, the Sisters of the Traveling Bracelets for Cancer Research, The Arts Council of Tifton, The Tifton Museum and the Tifton Love Affair. She served as an Ambassador at the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta.
Valerie was an avid tennis player, loved playing Bridge, Duplicate Bridge and Canasta.
Her accomplishments and contributions to her community are surpassed only by the love she had for her family and friends. To know Valerie was to know the depth of love she had for her children. Her friends found in her a loyal and steadfast friend with an impeccably timed sense of humor. Her zeal for family and life inspired so many and, by sharing this passion, she bequeathed a beautiful legacy that will be carried on for generations to come. Valerie Eastman was a gift to us all.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Valerie’s favorite charities, Fitzgerald Hebrew Congregation, c/o Phil Perlis, The Big Store, 346 Main Street, Tifton, Ga 31794, or the League of Ribbons, Eugene and Christine E Lynn Cancer Institute, 701 NW 13th Street, Boca Raton, FL 33486.