Valerie Defense, age 42, of Nashville, TN, passed away on Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville, TN.  Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 2:00pm from the Otts Funeral Home Chapel with burial to follow in Allman Cemetery.  Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Friday, February 16, 2024 from 6:00pm until 8:00pm.

Valerie Elizabeth Defense,born on June 15, 1981 in Brooklyn, New York, was the eldest child of Klaus, Sr. and Glenda Truelove Defense.

From the moment she was born, she was a pure delight and the life of the party.  Valerie was not only a delight to be around, she was loving, caring, intelligent, and wanted everyone around her to have the best time possible.  There was never a dull moment.  Her love of life was not only exemplified through her family and friends, but most importantly her love for the Lord. Valerie accepted Christ at a young age and was baptized at Allman Chapel C.M.E. Church in Sulligent, Alabama.

During her primary and secondary school days she excelled in her studies and was involved in numerous clubs and organizations.  Valerie attended Huffman, Ramsay and Hoover High Schools and graduated in the Class of 1999.  After high school, she furthered her education and attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, her freshmen and sophomore years, majoring in business and marketing.

Valerie always wanted to return to and live in her birth state of New York and received that opportunity when she was accepted into The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) her junior and senior years of college, majoring in fashion merchandising and marketing.  After finishing FIT, she returned to Birmingham, Alabama and continued to work and figure out her path in life.  Valerie's main jobs while in Birmingham, where she met a lot of lifelong friends, were SITEL and T-Mobile.  While at T-Mobile, Valerie was a top performer and earned many accolades and promotions, which eventually lead to her transferring to Nashville, TN and she worked for almost 20 years.  After retiring from T-Mobile and deciding what her next career goal would be, Valerie enjoyed an active social life and loved to have a good time.  Eventually, Valerie decided her next career path would be nursing and she enrolled and was accepted into South College School of Nursing and was very excited about her future.  Valerie was our Beyonce (if you know you know) and will truly be missed by all.

Valerie leaves to cherish her memories, the main loves of her life, her sons, Isaiah Thurston Defense and Ian Theodore Defense; mother, Glenda Truelove Defense; father, Klaus Defense, Sr.; sister, Fawn Defense Callaway (Marco Callaway); brother, Klaus Defense, Jr. and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Valerie was preceded in death by her one and only nephew, Ivan Jarvez Boykin.

Condolences and special memories may be shared with the family at: www.ottsfuneralhome.net

Otts Funeral Home

Sulligent, AL, Directing