By David Kilby | Correspondent

Before Father Charles R. Valentine died Jan. 28, he hardly wasted a moment in being a pastor to two parish communities, an assistant in a third, a handyman to local farmers and newcomers and – next to being a priest, what he will be most known for – an avid outdoorsman.

“He loved the people he served, and served faithfully for 30 years the people of Englishtown and Perrineville,” said Msgr. Sam Sirianni, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, where Father Valentine, 85, spent the last years of his life assisting with the parish in his retirement. “But he cared for anyone who came into his life. He had a quick wit, never seemed to get flustered. Even in his later years when he was suffering so much he never told anyone. That was between him and God, and he was a man of prayer.”

Before he died, Father Valentine instructed Msgr.  Sirianni to give no eulogy at the late priest and friend’s funeral Mass, which was celebrated Feb. 1 in St. Robert Bellarmine Church, but the pastor still found a way to give thanks for Father Valentine’s life.

He spoke of the priesthood as a celebration of God’s love through the sacraments, and thanked God for allowing him and so many others to be the “beneficiaries” of that love through the life of the priest he was celebrating, with over 200 friends, family members and clergy at the funeral.

“He was a priest who to the very end wished to bring Christ to others,” he said. “His down-to-earth wisdom cut through the fears that sometimes overwhelmed us, reminding us to just be present, and that God is always present. He never stopped being a priest.”

That is what many parishioners observed about Father Valentine, who diligently continued his priestly duties in his later years. People from Our Lady of Mercy community, Englishtown, and St. Joseph Parish, Perrineville, where he served for 35 years, came to St. Robert Bellarmine Church to have Father Valentine hear their confession.

Joe Louro of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish recalled going to visit Father Valentine at St. Joseph Church, Perrineville. The two communities were building new churches at the same time, and Louro recalled how impressed he was to see Father Valentine working with the carpenters sanding wood as they built the new church in Perrineville.

“He was very good friends with Father (Thomas) O’ Connor, who was our pastor,” Louro said. “So when he retired he came to live here for the past four or five years. He was just a great addition to the parish.”

George Schmidt, a parishioner at OLOM-St. Thomas More Parish, Manalapan, said he first met Father Valentine through a parish picnic they held to try and bring together the Our Lady of Mercy community and St. Joseph community, which was a mission of OLOM at the time.

Schmidt was one of Father Valentine’s many fishing buddies, and recalled times when they took fishing trips to Wyoming and Alaska.

Schmidt’s oldest son Eric spent a lot of time with Father Valentine as well, often going along on fishing trips. “He used to say, ‘I’ve come to the realization that there’s no fishing in heaven, so I have to get it all in now,’” Eric Schmidt said.

“It wouldn’t be unusual for him to end up as wet as the fish on a fishing trip,” he added. “If you were to complain to him about something, his patented response was ‘Thank God there’s fishing.’”

Eric Schmidt, who used to work for the Manalapan Police, recalled when Father Valentine was police chaplain for his department and was often asked to go to the scene of a tragedy and console family members.

Many people validated how aware he was of their spiritual needs. Terry Csurbak of OLOM-St. Thomas More Parish said Father Valentine helped her and her family get through a series of tragedies.

Pat Hileman of St. Joseph Parish said Father Valentine strongly encouraged her and her friends to join the Legion of Mary to promote prayerfulness and works of mercy.

“When I joined the Legion of Mary at Our Lady of Mercy with Father Valentine, I said, ‘I can’t do this, go to a meeting every week,’ but the Blessed Mother and Father Valentine kept edging us on. And we’re still going. We’re still under Father Valentine’s appointments.”

Pat’s husband, Dick Hileman, is a Catholic convert and had the honor to receive one-on-one religious instruction, his first Reconciliation and first Communion, from Father Valentine.

“He made it personable. He made it so you wanted to go to him,” he said of his meetings with the priest and friend.

“He was a really hands-on guy,” said Paul Riviere, also from St. Joseph Parish. “He liked to do stuff with his hands,” recalling a time he visited a local farmer and found Father Valentine underneath a tractor helping to fix it.

Those who loved Father Valentine may someday be with him again, Msgr. Sirianni offered, saying, “When you hear the Lord call your name and you go out to meet him,” he said to the congregation, “don’t be surprised to see Father Valentine standing right beside you, with that gleam in his eye, saying [to God] ‘These are my people. These are the ones you’ve given me to serve and care for.”

Father Valentine was buried Feb. 2, in St. Joseph Cemetery, Perrineville, on the former grounds of the old St. Joseph Church.