Valerie Aylward Klobnak passed from this life on Thursday, April 16, 2026 while surrounded by family and friends after a sixteen-year battle with cancer and multiple strokes. She was 73.

Valerie was born in St. Louis on May 20, 1952 to Edgar and Lois (nee Turbak) Aylward. She is survived by her husband of forty-four years, John (Jack) Klobnak, a daughter, Emma Aylward Klobnak, of Creve Coeur and New Orleans, a brother, Thomas and his wife Sharon of Ladue, Missouri, three nephews and a niece. She was predeceased by her sister, Pamela. Valerie was born in St. Louis and the family lived her first few years in University City and moved to Bridgeton, Missouri in 1958 when she was six. Moving to Bridgeton began her lifelong love for the city and the new subdivision where the family lived, an experimental post-war development called Carrollton, a city within a city. Carrollton was the largest subdivision in St. Louis and had schools, churches, shopping and of course, a community center with a swimming pool where she could be found most summer days. After their marriage in 1982, Valerie and Jack bought a home in Carrollton where they lived happily until Lambert Airport announced plans to bulldoze a perfectly good city for an unnecessary runway. Nobody worked harder to stop the plan than Valerie.

Valerie attended Pattonville Schools graduating in 1970. She attended St. Louis Community College and later worked in the accounting field until she left work to become a full-time homemaker, something she often said was what she really wanted to do. But what she really wanted to do was be a mother, something doctors had told her was probably not in the cards. Over the years however, Valerie had a way of proving doctors wrong. Upon learning she was pregnant, she was overjoyed. Because of her age, 44, and several medical conditions, doctors warned her of the dangers of having the baby. She was, however resolute in her desire to have the child and despite having to remain in bed for much of her pregnancy, she delivered a healthy baby girl in September of 1994. It was then, after a mild stroke, doctors discovered she had a rare clotting disease that would predispose her to having more strokes throughout her life. She devoted the rest of her life to caring for her daughter, Emma. The two enjoyed Valerie's love for animals. She'd often take fallen birds to the bird rescue, make Jack stop and carry turtles to the other side of the road. Animals sensed her love for them as manifest by the many mother deer who would bring their babies to her porch while they went off to forage. Over her life she had many dogs and cats, three of whom still remain at home.

Valerie supported many charities, including projects at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a Lutheran low-income housing project in North St. Louis, and Indian Christian charities in the Southwest.

Services for Valerie will be held at Village Lutheran Church, 9237 Clayton Road, Ladue, Missouri on Monday, April 20. Visitation will be at 10:00 AM with services immediately following at 11:00 AM. Burial will be at Bellerive Gardens in Creve Coeur.