Valor Christian Pickett went on his next grand adventure in the early morning of November 5th, 2022. He was 62 years old. His mother Barbara, and his sister Honor Christian preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Genevieve; his four daughters Laurel (Joe Proffitt), Lydia, Zephyr, and Oasis, his three sons Micah (Chelsea Pickett), Ember, and Onyx, his three grandchildren Amira, Vivian, and Avery, his brother Noble, his sisters Azure, Merit (Mike Dennis), and April, nieces Scarlett, Hanna, Jasmine, Kalie, Tess, and Sona, nephews Derreck (Leslie Hughes), Jude, and Quinton. He had countless friends and acquaintances who loved and cherished him.

Valor was born on November 5th, 1960, in Fort Worth, Texas to his beautiful Mother, Barbara. He was the second of her six children. Valor was a very imaginative child, who loved telling stories and playing games with his siblings.

As a teenager, Valor attended Jeffersonville High School. While there, he discovered his love for photography, perfected the German language, extensively hiked the banks of the Ohio River with his beloved dog Rascal and made several lifelong friends. He graduated on May 18th, 1979.

Far from traditional, Valor felt it was best to hold off on college so he could travel. He left on his early adventures in June 1979. Valor traveled around the Great Lakes and all the Provinces of Canada on his 750 Honda motorcycle. Once he had his fill of greater North America, Valor embarked on an international trip. He traveled through Europe for several months, stopping to work when he ran out of money. While in Europe he picked up a passible amount of the Russian language that he used later in life to entertain his children. Valor had many stories to tell from his travels when he returned home in 1981.

In 1984, Valor became a father after the birth of his first child, a role he absolutely adored. While working as a photographer for a surgeon in Louisville, Kentucky, Valor realized he wanted more from his life and decided that he was ready to further his education. He applied to several colleges but had his heart on the University of Alaska, Anchorage, or the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He had decided to pick the school that accepted him first and The Arkansas Razorbacks won out against the Alaska Seawolves by one day.

In the Summer of 1986, Valor moved his small family to Northwest Arkansas to begin his studies in Fayetteville. He studied world history and Arabic off and on for several years while also welcoming two more children. In June of 1993 Valor received his Bachelor's in history and quickly pursued his Master’s in history with a concentration on Middle Eastern studies. During this period, Valor rediscovered his love of storytelling and became an award-winning Graduate Assistant Teacher.

In 2001, he used his vast knowledge of Middle Eastern Studies to apply for and win a paid study-abroad internship in Morocco, where he both took and taught classes. While in Morocco, Valor explored the Sahara Desert, rode camels, and completely blew out his knee playing soccer with his younger counterparts.

It was still all good fun to him, that is until he was in a strange hospital with a doctor pouring hydrogen peroxide on his knee and wrapping it in a giant green cast, and sending him back to school. He was in an extreme amount of pain, but he fought through it to continue his adventures. In addition to Morocco, Valor took a train to Timbuktu, flew to Spain to see the coast, visited France, and spent the night in London. He did this all while on crutches with his giant green cast. By this point, Valor knew he should head home to get his knee taken care of. His last bit of adventure came by accident, with a long layover in New York City. He spent one night with an old friend, taking photos of Times Square and hobbling along until it was time for his flight home.

Over the next several years, Valor continued his education by publishing his thesis and pursuing his doctorate. He worked several interesting jobs, welcomed two grandchildren, and became a professor at Northwest Arkansas Community College. His students there became like his extended family. He finally found his place, as an adored professor of World History and Arabic. He received numerous glowing student surveys through his school, and rave reviews online.

During this time, Valor still had the desire to see more of the world and took a month-long trip to Egypt, where he explored the Great Pyramids of Giza, found many a cat on the streets of Cairo to pet, swam in the Red Sea, hiked along the Nile River, and explored the Valley of the Kings. He relished in these travels and made promises to continue with his wanderlust.

Valor found meaningful love later in life and married for the second time in July of 2011. This union brought him endless joy and 4 gorgeous children: Ember, Onyx, Zephyr, and Oasis. He marveled at fatherhood and made it a point to be very present for his young children. During this period, he also achieved another great dream, living abroad. He and his wife embarked on a new life in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was living on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, as he had dreamed about for most of his life. He trained as a naval firefighter, which took him through the sea as he always wanted. Valor and his little family thoroughly enjoyed living in South America, and eventually relocated back to the US.

Valor was a man of many trades and upon his re-entrance into the US he immediately started to work towards helping his family thrive. He also worked on teaching his children the value of time spent together, of listening to good music of any sort, of making memories, of cooking delicious meals, and of exploring.

In the final years of his life, Valor became a grandfather for the 3rd time, worked on learning new languages such as French and Spanish, and he moved to Gillette, Wyoming with his wife and young children. He spent the final year of his life exploring the national parks, learning his new town, perfecting his recipes for his young ones, and enjoying the freedom of a fresh start.

Valor Christian Pickett passed away at 2:20a.m on his 62nd birthday, peacefully in his sleep, after a short illness. His departure onto his next adventure came as a shock to all who knew him. He was a vibrant, charismatic, compassionate, intelligent, quirky, and loving man. His children are bereft without him. His grandchildren miss his stories, his hugs, and his eyebrow shakes. He will be remembered with every Rush song, every 4th of July celebration, every pasta sauce made, and all the bread baked by his children. He will be remembered for his moving prayers, his silly teasing of younger siblings, his boisterous laugh, his teachings, and for all the love and kindness he showed to those dear as well as those unknown to him.

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