Valerie Jean (Shumaker) Jaggers

Valerie Jaggers passed away peacefully on Oct. 1st, 2025 at the age of 72. She is survived by her husband Tim Jaggers, her daughter Kathryn (Ryan) Vera, father Paul Shumaker, brother Eric (Janel) Shumaker, sister Karyn (Richard) Wright, and grandson Logan. She is preceded in death by her mother, Shirley.

Valerie Jean Shumaker was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Santa Clara High school where she was an honor roll student and a foreign exchange student, traveling to Holland. After high school, she attended the Bryman school to be a medical secretary. On June 16th, 1973, she married the love of her life, Tim Jaggers. Four years later they had a beautiful little girl named Kathryn. She has grown into a strong, independent, lovely young woman and mother. Valerie was a stay-at-home mom and housewife who supported her family.

Valerie suffered from a rare form of Epilepsy that required a variety of treatments. In 1993, she received a brain surgery which stopped the communication between the two hemispheres, reducing the severity of her seizures. Doctors then discovered that Valerie's speech center was on the opposite side of anyone else in the world at the time. This led to a lot of fame in the scientific community. Theses were written on her, and she was studied at home as well as by scientists at UC Davis for years. She was in newspapers, magazines and scientific journals.

As the years went by, Valerie took great joy in attending her daughter's concert programs in school and later she and her husband became "band parents." They attended all of their daughter's performances when she was in the marching band, including a trip to Canada for a parade. Valerie really enjoyed being the mother of the bride when her daughter was married, and later loved being a grandma. She loved going to Monterey and Capitola with her husband, enjoying the local shops, restaurants, and beaches. Valerie also had an avid love for books, with a collection that rivaled local libraries. She loved cuddling with her fluffy grey cat, Smokey, as they were very close.

Valerie's memorial service will be at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2383 Pacific Dr., Santa Clara, CA 95051 on January 11, 2026 at 11:30 AM on Zoom and in person. Zoom link 408-248-3668. 9668 is Zoom code. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Epilepsy Society.