Josh Valantine

July 4, 1980 — Nov. 26, 2017

Joshua Paul Valantine passed away Nov. 26, 2017, at his home in St. George, Utah.

Born July 4, 1980, in Richfield, Utah, to Matthew Valantine and Shareen Bunker Holt, Josh was raised in Salina, Utah, until he was 10 and then moved to St. George where he graduated from Pine View High School in 1998 and established his home.

Growing up, Josh was always a quiet child. He loved working on the farm with his father Scott and grandpa. He had a creative imagination and always made up tall tales about mountain lions that he would share with his grandpa in the truck on the way home from working at the farm. When he was 1 year old, while down on the farm, nobody could find him. After looking high and low for him, they found him cuddled up on top of the big Brahman cow lying down in the corral.

Josh had many interests including four-wheeling, camping, painting, welding, tattoos and being a mechanic.

Most of his life, Josh worked alongside his father and uncles farming sod, mining landscaping rock and maintaining a fleet of trucks and heavy operating equipment. He was a man of many talents and excelled at being a mechanic. For the last four years, he worked for the city of St. George as a wastewater operator. He loved this job the most and found great pride and enjoyment working alongside the outstanding group of wastewater operators at the Wastewater Reclamation Facility.

Josh married Brooke Lea Phillips in St. George on May 1, 2010. He called her his Cinderella. She was always infatuated with his handsome, green eyes and was jealous of his beautiful, long eyelashes. Josh was a strong protector and generous provider for his family. He was extremely smart; if he didn’t know how to do something, he would learn how to do it. He was intelligent, creative, ingenious and always thought mathematically and outside the box.

Josh loved hiking and being outside. He had the most tender of hearts and connected with and loved all animals. Together Josh and Brooke enjoyed motorcycling, geocaching, eating ice cream and being out on the Rhino.

On Dec. 1, 2015, Josh and Brooke adopted their beloved daughters, Braylee and Shaylee. Josh loved his daughters and was proud of them and their accomplishments in facing many trials and hardships in their lives. He was most happy taking them on daddy-daughter dates, braiding their hair, four-wheeling with them and just being with them all the time. Braylee and Shaylee say that Josh was the best and only dad they’ve ever had and that they couldn’t have hand-picked a better father for them. His favorite saying to his daughters was “Peace Out Rainbow Trout” whenever he left the house or went to sleep.

Josh is survived by his wife Brooke Lea; children Braylee Grace and Shaylee True; father Scott Holt, St. George; sister Deserae (Ryan) Whitlock, Hurricane, Utah; grandma Norma Holt, St. George; father Matthew (Jody) Valantine, Santa Clara, Utah; brothers Brandon (Megan) Valantine, Kansas City, Kansas, and Cary (Kaili) Valantine, St. George; sisters Aubrey (Brady) Ence, Ivins, Utah, and Danielle (Carson) Ence, Ivins. He is preceded in death by his mother Shareen Bunker Holt and his grandpa Donald Holt.

Funeral services

  • A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, Dec. 2, at 2 p.m., at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 West St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah.
  • Family and friends may visit Saturday, Dec. 2, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. prior to the service.
  • Interment will be at the Tonaquint Cemetery, St. George, Utah.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221.

For condolences, full obituary and funeral listings please visit Metcalf Mortuary online.

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