Valerie Maria “Val” Carlin, 95, formerly of Oak Brook and River Forest, died on May 2, 2018 in Wheaton. Born in Chicago on Sept. 14, 1922, she spent her early years on her parents’ ranch in Sonora, Mexico. In 1938, the family returned to the U.S. where Valerie and her sister Regina attended Trinity High School and Rosary College. She found her niche in real estate and spent her middle-age and later years as a successful business woman managing her own investment portfolio. Good health let her manage her business and live on her own until she was 94 when she retired to Brighton Gardens in Wheaton.
Val Carlin was preceded in death by her parents, James Joseph Ryan and Mae Leahy Ryan; her sister, Regina Finn (J. Richard) and her eldest son, Kevin Ryan Carlin (Crystal Risberg). She is survived by her daughter, Jamee Ryan Carlin; her sons, Brian Michael Carlin and Shawn Edward Carlin (Marian Cook); and her grandchildren, Ryan, Jennifer, Joseph and Regie Carlin.
A memorial service celebrating her life was attended by immediate family, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
