Valerie Sumner, or ‘Val’ as she was known to family and friends, is considered to be one of the founding members of the organising committee of the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria Archbishop’s Dinner. The dinner is organised every year in support of the Priests Support and Education Fund (PSEF), and Valerie was the driving force behind its success for nearly twenty years. Valerie passed away on 9 July 2021 at the age of 87.
In his tribute to Valerie, Andrew Vaccaro, Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria PSEF, referred to Valerie as ‘the glue that held [the] Committee together for virtually its entire existence, and a key member in getting all sponsors on board year after year.’ Through her dedication and commitment, Valerie maintained and nurtured the vital relationships with sponsors, seeing the Knights raise over $1.3 million in support of the PSEF. Valerie also set up an action plan for the Committee to succeed in her absence and appointed and prepared her successor, Nadia Bolzonello.
Born and raised at a time when family, extended family and community were tightly interwoven, Valerie was raised by loving parents, who were heavily involved in supporting their local parish and sporting club. Leanne Campbell, Valerie’s daughter, recalls a time when her grandmother, Saramae, had given her grandfather’s new pair of shoes away to the Sisters of Mercy because ‘they [happened] to need a new pair of shoes.’ Valerie worked alongside her father to raise funds for the sporting club, and she was proclaimed ‘Fundraising Queen’ at her local parish of St Bernadette’s, Sunshine North, in 1952 when she raised 1017 pounds and 3 pence—quite a significant amount of money at the time.
Valerie also loved football and was a strong supporter of Fitzroy Football Club. When the players and the board voted for the club to relocate to Brisbane to overcome financial stress, Valerie led the fundraising to stay in Melbourne, and even managed to engage Kylie Minogue to come and sing ‘The Loco-Motion’ at their last fundraising event. She was a great communicator and could express the importance of any cause, to any sponsor, and get them on board. Leanne notes that:
[Valerie] ‘knew that she could communicate with people; that she could use her talents and skills; that she could use other elements of her character for a purpose, such as fundraising.’
Unarguably, Valerie was passionate about supporting many causes, especially the clergy. She was an active member of the Parents and Friends Auxiliary at Corpus Christi College—the regional seminary for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia—and she was also a member of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller—an Order focused on serving the sick and the poor, and improving patient care.
Valerie was a faithful Catholic, she had a special devotion to Mary MacKillop and loved to sing the ‘Hail Queen of Heaven’. She also had the habit of writing down a phrase and keeping it on her desk throughout the year. Her last phrase was ‘Get up. Dress up. Turn up. Never give up.’ Andrew says:
Despite her short stature, [Valerie] was one of the strongest women he has come to know, willing to fight for what she believed in.’
The day before her passing, Valerie made her last request to the Committee. She asked the Committee to keep to the action plan to ensure the success of the Archbishop’s Dinner in six weeks time. Valerie was not only a stalwart of the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria PSEF Committee, she was also a great mother, grandmother and an exceptional human being. May her soul rest in peace and rise to glory.
All photographs were kindly provided by the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria.
