Dr. Valerie Evelyn Kiper

Dr. Valerie Evelyn Kiper, age 67, passed from this life peacefully on April 27, 2025 at her home. 

A memorial service to honor Valerie's incredible life will be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM at First Baptist Church in Amarillo.  Dr. Howard Batson will officiate.  A directive from Valerie herself, "have everyone wear bright colors!" 

Valerie Evelyn (Sells) Kiper was born Dec. 28, 1957 in Verdun, France to Phyllis and Charles Sells while Charles was serving in the US Army. They returned to the US when Valerie was about a year old.  A short time after returning to the states, she spend time back in Jacksonville, NC, they made a move to Amarillo, Texas, to be close to her grandparents, Richard and Lucy Nixon and great grandparents, Evalina and Charles Deadwiley. In fact, Valerie's middle name Evelyn is after both of her grandmothers and great-grandmother. Valerie grew up as an only child after her brother, Mark Richard passed away when she was 5 and he was 6 after a lengthy illness. Valerie's mom, Phyllis Chumos Smith passed away in 1998 and her father, Charles Mason Sells in 2013.

She loved spending time with her Merna and Papa Nixon and since they lived next door, it was very convenient to do that. She didn't have many playmates as a young child so she always loved when her cousins, Doyle, Craig and Kelly came for a visit. She especially liked making mud pies and forcing them to eat them. Her cousin Terry remembered her being the "one in charge" when they got to spend time together. She continued to be the "one in charge" throughout her life.

Valerie became mother to Brett Allyson White in 1986. Valerie met the love of her life, Jim in 1989 and they were married in 1991 in the Chapel of Love in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jim always says he "hit the jackpot" on that trip!!! Valerie then became stepmother to Kelsi and Jacee. Together they had Sterling in 1992 and officially became a family of yours, mine and ours.

Valerie went to elementary school at Robert E. Lee, middle school at Horace Mann for a brief time before the family moved to Rolling Hill, and she then attended River Road Middle School and Caprock High School in 1976. After graduation from Caprock High School Valerie attend Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing and graduated with her RN degree in 1979 at the age of 21. She had known from an early age she wanted to be a nurse, following in the footsteps of her mom and Mama Sells. She began her nursing career in the Neonatal ICU at Northwest. Never one to waste any time, she began working on her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at West Texas State where she graduated with that degree in 1983 and then decided to continue afterward in pursuing in Master of Science in Nursing degree also from West Texas.

Not long into her career she rose to become a nurse leader in her area of expertise in NICU. She was instrumental in pioneering several nursing clinical practice innovations in the NICU that laid the foundation in the Texas Panhandle that neonatal care continues to build on today such as development of: a dedicated neonatal transport team, minimal stimulation care concept, early feeding techniques for the neonate, a defined neonatal discharge program, dedicated lactation education nurse, neonatal nurse clinicians which eventually led to the use of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners and neonatal outreach education for healthcare providers in rural areas. As her career progressed, she became a nursing director over Women and Newborn Care and then to the top as the Chief Nursing Officer at NWTHS. At the age of 54 when her last child, Sterling had graduated from high school and was on his way to college, she decided to obtain her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Texas Tech University Health Science Center, graduating after as one of the "older students" in her cohort at the age of 56. In fact, she recalls walking into the second day of class in Lubbock feeling a sense of what am I doing here! After missing the first day as she had skipped to watch her son's last baseball game for Bushland High School as they played in the semifinals at the state baseball tournament in Austin; watching Sterling play baseball was her passion for many years!

Valerie kept the path between Amarillo and Lubbock hot for the next couple of years and sometimes flying into Lubbock as she completed one of her many trips working as a nursing consultant. Perhaps her last role as nursing faculty completed the circle of her nursing career as she was mentoring the next generation of nurses as she served as faculty in Texas Tech Health Science School of Nursing Program. 

As the Chief Nursing Officer, she always wanted to see her staff grow and develop into strong nurses and nursing leaders. She was a wonderful mentor as one of her nursing director-Tammy Farris often said- "she told us she would never hold us back, if it was something that was best for us. She forced us to be better and she always had her nurses' backs!" Valerie was truly a visionary leader.

No doubt, no matter what, she cared for people! Isn't it amazing how you have always heard that people might not remember your name but they will remember how they made you feel. I think people will both remember Valerie's name and how she made them feel.

Probably one of the most significant legacies, Dr. Kiper will leave behind is founding the Panhandle Great 25 Nurses established to promote recognition of outstanding nurses in the Texas Panhandle, however ultimately the end goal was to fund scholarships so that nurses and nursing students could continue their education in the nursing profession to advance the healthcare of the communities they serve. Over the past several years, her leadership and vision to help facilitate the growth of new nurses to continue providing healthcare for their communities through the work of the Panhandle Great 25 has now provided a significant financial contribution for nursing scholarships.

She imparted her nursing knowledge through a lifelong journey of public presentations, podcasts and publications. She has largely spoken on various nursing leadership/leadership development, and healthcare accreditation/regulatory readiness topics through her long nursing career presenting at the local, state and national levels

Valerie loved being involved in many professional and community organizations during her 40-plus-year nursing career. She was always passionate about making a difference within her community through her involvement in the many volunteer activities and leadership roles she has on local community boards including: Amarillo TTUHSC Community Advisory Board; Laura W. Bush Women's Healthcare Institute Community Advisory Board and Power of the Purse Committee; The Bridge Children's Advocacy Center, Texas Panhandle Independent Futures Foundation, and The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce- Governmental Affairs Committee; the American HEART Association- Go Red for Women and as chairwoman for the event. She was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Office of Prevention of Developmental Disabilities Executive Committee and served on the Texas Organization of Nursing Leaders. She had been board-certified as a nurse executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for 20-plus years. Additionally, her achievements as a role model for the nursing profession is evident in some of the recognition she has received during her career, such as the Wanda Reed Excellence in Nursing Management Award; Distinguished Alumni awards for both the TTUHSC Health Science Center School of Nursing and for her local

High School-Caprock. A few of her later achievements were receiving The Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award through the Texas Organization of Nursing Leaders. What was most special was receiving the Legacy Award through the Panhandle Great 25, as she was the founder of this event that honored exemplary nurses and provided scholarships for nursing students in the Panhandle, and the TTUHSC Presidential Alumni Award, which is the highest alumni award given by the university. Valerie was also recognized by NextStar Communications as the 2023 Remarkable Woman for the Texas Panhandle.

Valerie never gave up in helping to address the Panhandle nursing shortage, though her diligence in helping to expand Texas Tech's Nursing program in Amarillo. At the end of her nursing career, she was able to see this dream come through and serve as the inaugural Regional Dean of nursing for the Amarillo TTUHSC campus.

As you can see by what all she accomplished in her career, she was a person who liked to be in charge! She loved her work and career as a nurse, but more than anything she enjoyed time with her family- the many times they shared on vacations to SeaWorld, Fiesta Texas when the kids were small and as they grew up either on Baseball trips with Sterling or to their resort in Cancun that they enjoyed as a family for over 20 years. They often took friends with them too so they could enjoy the beautiful blue ocean and whit sandy beaches. Always a fun time on the beach with whoever ended up in Cancun with the Kiper's. And she took every opportunity to attend her grandson Cutter's sporting events. He reminded her since he was the oldest grandchild that she was his YaYa first! Obtaining Christmas gifts for Cutter was quite entertaining- she ordered a bike for him once; when he went to pick it up, she had ordered a pink one! Or the time she went to Academy to get him a hunting rifle and checked on the form she was a convicted felon. So that she got that last gun available, she had to have someone else come to get it, so in comes her son-in-law in his sheriff uniform! People in the store weren't sure if she was being arrested.

Girl trips to Denver, Las Vegas, San Antonio, and Angel Fire were most memorable, going to the theater, sitting by the pool, golfing, and shopping. Several years ago, Val learned how to make wine bottle lamps with Jim helping drill out the bottles she could add the lights and beads. She carefully selected the wine bottle that portrayed each of her friends she was making one for.

Valerie loved being with Jim each and every day of her life, and they had so many fond memories and a true love that endured. They especially enjoyed their early times together just being with their kids out on their 20 years at the mini- ranch house in the country- riding horses, playing in the pool, taking Sterling to baseball tournaments or Brett to swim meets; and since moving out of the country to the country club, they enjoyed playing golf together as often as they could. They loved to take Romo, their dachshund, in the golf cart when they played golf. Jim said the people on the golf course recognized Romo before they did them! She loved entertaining and hosting a get-together at any time, any day, and could throw it

together faster than you could blink- from birthday to Christmas parties to Super Bowl parties or sports team dinners, and especially her friend's brunches and girl time on her patio- named Val's She Shed. She enjoyed decorating for many of the holidays, especially Christmas, which was what Valerie enjoyed the most. She had a ton of decorations and she always loved putting them up, but only she could decorate the tree as she knew exactly where every ornament went year after year, just ask her children and Cutter!! Valerie loved, loved springtime and summer so she could get her plants going. In fact, it was a running joke between Jim and Val when she used to travel for work, if he had fed the kids and animals and watered the plants! Jim would tell her no, the plants had all died! Val was a tough, determined lady. It was probably the Greek heritage she had. She was always in constant motion, doing something around the house or outside. She had to be the one" in charge so that is why she was probably a good nursing leader. However, when it came to her family, she expected toughness out of them, too. For example, Jim will recall the time Brett had an ovarian tumor the size of a baseball or Sterling had broken his leg and she made them get up, suck it up and go to school! They survived Nurse Ratchet as Val was often called lovingly"

As you can see Valerie was a "doer" and didn't let grass grow under her feet for long, but nothing compares to the love and commitment she had for her family, being Wife to Jim; Mother, Mom, Mama, MiMi to Brett, Sterling, Jacee, and Kelsi; YAYA (grandmother in Greek) to Cutter, Layke, Oliver and Wyatt; her beloved dogs, Dakzi, Raider ;and her late dog, Emmett, Romo and cat, Louise, and her army of many, many special friends.

As she found out the diagnosis of ALS, yes, tears were shed for what might not be and those she would leave behind, but she never questioned her faith and that God was beside her in this journey. She felt she was given the opportunity of having ALS so that she could help advocate for others who had been diagnosed with ALS. Val, her family, and many friends began a golf tournament in her name so they could give to the Gleason Foundation and the WTAMU Phi Delta Theta fraternity to help support others living with ALS. While she had a disability, she remained resilient and did not surrender her white flag.

She was determined to live each day to the fullest and have no regrets- her life had been full. Valerie's spirits stayed up, and she stayed positive to the end, just as she had been from the beginning, knowing she would see her loved ones in Heaven one day.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests that memorials be made the Texas Tech University Health Science Center, School of Nursing, Dr. Valerie Kiper Endowed Scholarship Fund, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock TX 79430, The Valerie Kiper Golf Tournament to benefit the Gleason Foundation or the WTAMU Phi Delta Theta Fraternity to support others living with ALS., 2900 4th Ave Canyon, TX, United States, Texas 79015

WTAMU Phi Delta "Iron Phi"