Community Women

Women’s History Month Spotlight: Valaria Conerly Moon

Written by Tanya Terry

Valaria Conerly Moon, age 71, of Flint Township is a semi-retired business owner of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home. She is also the former executive director of the Valley Agency on Aging. The Flint Courier News had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Moon and learned what Moon said was previously unknown about her. We also want to give our readers the pleasure of getting to know her during Women’s History Month.

Courier: How has the Valley Agency on Aging grown in the number of people it is able to serve and what was your impact on this?

Valaria Conerly Moon: I started at 24 years old as executive director, and I guess the significance of that is it provided me with naivety, I’ve always laughed and said-but very true-because it was an overwhelming task to provide with no model at all to view. But the naivety kept me strong, and I wasn’t overwhelmed.

We started out with myself and a part time secretary, and the budget was $25, 000. By the time I left we had 12 professional staff people and other clerical people. So, about 15 total staff people. (And) the organization had grown from $25,000 to close to $15 million. Now the organization hires within its core staff…a large number in comparison. The budget now is around $35-40 million. I would think they would be able to serve at least 25% of the elderly population in the counties they are chosen to serve which are Genesee, Shiawassee and Lapeer.

Courier: When did you become the owner of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, and how have you been involved over the years?

Valaria Conerly Moon: My husband and I started in November of 1987. (I have been involved) not only with equal ownership, but I worked there when necessary. I worked more in the past than I do now to get it off the ground. The funeral home has grown from our Flint base to opening up in Saginaw and opening up in Pontiac. (And) I’m also proud to say our son, Lawrence Trunis Moon, has followed us in the business, and so he operates our facility in Pontiac.

Courier: Why did you choose the funeral home business?

My husband is a licensed funeral director, and when I met him he was taking the state boards. He already finished mortuary school. So, he had become licensed. (And) I had mentioned to him that he had a good reputation of being a highly skilled individual in the field of mortuary science. (And) I had suggested years prior to that, I said “with your skill, I’d be interested in going into business.” So, that was a goal, and he rolled up his sleeves and became an equal in interest level.

What is the most rewarding thing about working in your field of business?

Lawrence Trunis Moon: To really hear people say that-and these have been actual comment consistently over the years-and I’ll use someone’s verbiage on “if I just touch my mother I feel she’ll wake up. She looks so real.” (And) that would always tug at my heartstrings that at that lowest time of a person’s life that you can still bring somewhat a feeling of joy. My husband had said if he could operate free he would do that because that’s how much he loves doing what he’s doing.

What, if anything, have you done over the years to inspire other women?

I’ve worked with young ladies for a vast number of year on a volunteer basis through the Flint Area Chapter of the Links and the goal basically has been to expose young ladies to a bigger world outside of themselves and outside of their communities through the arts, through theatre and just through interaction with professional women, in particular. (And) we’ve done a number of presentations on etiquette in particular because we understand the importance of receiving a fantastic education, but also want to ensure their well roundedness with that education.

What is the most interesting and little known fact about you?

Maybe an unknown fact could be perception as being tough when in actuality I’m a softie.

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