Funeral services will be held at Hart-Wyatt Chapel, Walters, OK, on Saturday, November 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., with Teddy Good officiating under the direction of Hart-Wyatt Funeral Home in Walters, OK. Interment will follow at the Walters Cemetery.
Kalen Joseph Shawn Valdez was born on March 4, 2003, in Oklahoma City, OK, and departed this life in Hastings, OK, on November 24, 2024, at the age of 21 years, 8 months, and 20 days.
Kalen grew up in the Walters, Hastings, and Corum area, graduating from Comanche High School in 2022. He worked for A&B Rural Sanitation before becoming a butcher at Hometown Grocery in Walters. Most recently, he had been working as a dispatcher for the Walters/Cotton County E911 Call Center for the last four months, receiving his dispatch certification on November 11, 2024.
Kalen loved fishing, hunting, camping, and learning the guitar.
He was preceded in death by his father, Kelly Shawn Valdez.
He is survived by his adopted dad, Jimmy Wayne Smith of Hastings; his brothers, Harley Stanley of North Carolina and Gilbert Morrison of South Dakota; his adopted sister, Lauren Mellinger; aunts and uncles, Larry and Christy Valdez of Lawton, Shelly Russell of Walters; cousins, Holden and Olivia Valdez, Lailah Jolee Valdez, Josh and Jessica Russell, Justin and Brie Russell, and John Russell; special auntie Gina Sovo Lytle; best friend Christian Neift; girlfriend Jenavie Reed; and many other family and friends.
