Verba P. Valentine entered the world a few minutes before midnight on 13 August 1930 and departed it a few minutes after midnight on 18 August 2026 at the age of 96. The daughter of Frank K. Phelps and Eddalee Humiston Phelps, Verba spent her childhood on her family's ranches among the Pryor Mountains. She loved the land, and the life of a cowgirl. Learning to ride a horse almost as early as learning to walk, she was always ready to attempt any task that allowed her to work beside her dad, and she saw to it that she didn't disappoint him. That instilled in her the belief that everyone should do any job to the best of their ability, but, most importantly, do it right. One of the most heartbreaking days of her life occurred when she was "drug" away from the land she loved to attend high school in Billings.

Verba married David A. Valentine on 6 July 1949 in Billings. Roughly ten years later, their only child, Shawna, was born. While Dave pursued jobs in retail, Verba found employment in the secretarial field before they both branched into self-employment in the 1960's. Verba ran D&D Mimeograph Services, putting her on the path of printing which led her to her position as director of Central Services at Rocky Mountain College, a position she held until opening Triad Services in 1977. Subsequently, in August 1965, Dave opened their own western store, Rawhide Western Apparel. While attending the Billings Market Week Association to purchase merchandise for the store, Verba commented on how poorly the style show was run. She unknowingly happened to be sitting next to the Association's President who was in process of hiring a new Executive Secretary. She was hired on the spot and kept the job for 53 years until she retired in January 2020 at the age of 89.

In 1999, Market became her only job. Shawna assumed more of her workload and they worked together. Looking for something else to keep her busy, she attended a beginning genealogy class to learn more about her Phelps heritage. Quickly becoming overwhelmed by the stumbling block known as F.W. (aka her great-grandfather) she decided to involve Shawna for help. Shawna quickly became addicted to the pursuit as well, and the two shared many memorable vacations and hours, working side by side which is what the two did best. In 2002, she served as co-chair of the annual conference of the Montana State Genealogical Society and enjoyed it so much that she ran, and was elected as the Society's 1st Vice-President, so that she could continue organizing their conferences. With the help of an amazing Board, which included Shawna as President for 14 years, she took pride as she watched her efforts earn the state conference a respected reputation among the national genealogical community and served to bring better education opportunities to the genealogists of Montana. With Verba's eyesight failing, they both resigned in 2023.

Verba loved to travel with her daughter, and they were fortunate enough to visit 47 states, Canada and Mexico together. Verba would drive, and Shawna would navigate from Verba's carefully orchestrated itineraries and off they would go exploring. Verba especially loved the coast of Maine and the Desert Southwest, but both loved every minute they were anywhere together. All that changed in 2020 when she began to lose her eyesight. By the time Covid diminished enough to make travel possible again, she felt very uncomfortable in unfamiliar environments and their traveling days were over. By 2023, her eyesight was only a memory. Shawna took her in and, as per her wishes, continued to care for her during her last years, days, and minutes together at home.

When people thought of Verba, usually their first comment was that they respect her. She spoke her mind, and one always knew where they stood with her. She would do everything she could to help people that she felt deserved it but didn't have much time for those she felt didn't. She demanded that a job be done correctly, which meant by her definition of correct. In her final years, the knowledge that she could no longer perform up to her standards wore on her. Despite reassurances from Shawna that she wasn't, the feeling of being worthless eventually overtook her until after an intense month-long struggle, she finally gave up. She was no longer able to live life to her standards, and it proved to be too much for her.

Burial will be in Rockvale Cemetery. No service is planned.