City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Valerie "Jo" Perry Fuller
Durham, North Carolina
Age 84.
Died 05/16/2025.
Born Valerie Jo Perry in 1941 to her parents of Wayne County, West Virginia, the family soon settled in Point Pleasant, West Virginia where she spent most of her idyllic childhood. It was these fond memories of the family farm on Perry Ridge as well as her upbringing in a small town that formed an unwavering loyalty to her mountaineer roots throughout her life. This loyalty persisted even when the family moved to Los Angeles where Jo attended Hamilton High School and to Las Vegas where she graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1958 before attending Nevada Southern (now University of Nevada Las Vegas). Her memories of Las Vegas and the relationships formed during this time were some of her favorite topics of conversation and an exciting time in her life.
In 1970 the mountains called her back to West Virginia where she moved with her two children at the time and finished her degree in Education at Marshall University and then embarked on her career as an elementary school teacher. She was known as a “no nonsense” teacher with a strict, yet very caring attitude and she was proud to be a part of the journey for her students to meet their potential. She taught at Leon Elementary in Leon, WV, Ordnance Elementary in Point Pleasant, WV, and both Pearsontown Elementary and Easley Elementary in Durham, NC until she retired to spend more time with her grandchildren.
Jo’s greatest joy was watching her grandchildren whether that be with playtime at home or traveling to see them play in competitive sports. The only activities that came close to that joy was her love of Duke basketball, a glass of wine in the evening, and traveling with friends and family whether that be to the beach, excursions in West Virginia and Las Vegas, or her trips to Europe. Jo was always ready to go somewhere and truly enjoy life, made evident by her suitcase that she kept packed for a quick trip to Carolina Beach, which she made frequently.
Jo is preceded in death by her parents Murle Perry and Dalyah Ardena Wellman Perry, and her husband of nearly 50 years George “Jack” Fuller, Jr who passed in March, 2024. She is survived by and will be greatly missed by her sisters Vana Jean Perry Huff and Murle Dena Perry Clabeux of Las Vegas, Nevada whom she cherished, protected in childhood despite her tiny stature, and shared that unbreakable sister bond. Jo will be lovingly remembered by her children Allison Kinder (Jim) Ross of Chapel Hill, NC, Michael Joel (Dana) Kinder of Richmond, VA, and George “Jack” (Monique) Fuller, III of Apex, NC. The true highlights of her life were her grandchildren Cameron Ross, Erica Kinder, Sean Ross, Jaden Bowdrie, Jackson Fuller and Jace Fuller. She is also survived by her brother- and sister-in-law and close friends Jim and Vicki Fuller of Durham, NC who spent many hours with her and her husband playing songs and telling stories. Jo loved spending time with her numerous nieces and nephews as they grew up, C.E., Vanessa, Courtney, Bethany, Marnie, Bobby, Lisa, Ryan, Brit, and Jamie.
Dementia is an unforgiving thief of life that stole several quality of years from our loved one. Although it threatened Jo’s dignity, she did not allow it to take away her fight, her laughter, her love of music or her overall sense of joy. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org. The family is grateful for the kind neighbors, the extraordinary attention by Hospice, and for her caretakers, particularly Vanessa Lee, who demonstrated empathy and compassion 24/7.
A service will be held to remember Ms. Valerie Jo Fuller at 2 pm on May 31st at her son’s family’s place of worship, St Ambrose Episcopal Church at 813 Darby St in Raleigh, NC. Following the service, an informal drop-in celebration of life for close family and friends will be held at Jo’s house 507 Grist Mill Lane in Durham from approximately 4 pm until 6 pm to share fond memories, music and laughter, just as she would want.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.