James Valentine remembered at Sydney Town Hall memorial

With performances from Paul Kelly, Jimmy and Mahalia Barnes and Kate Ceberano, the memorial was held on Friday, following Valentine’s death in April and a cancer diagnosis in March 2024 that turned terminal.

Valentine’s son Roy spoke of the shock but comfort the family took from his father’s decision to go by voluntary assisted dying.

“There was such a cohesion … he said to us ‘I know it’s horrible but I need to go’,” Roy said.

“He lived in the present tense.

“Dad had cancer for 2½ years. We did not hear him complain once.

“Time became this precious necessity which was slipping through our hands.”

Valentine, 64, was awarded an Order of Australia shortly before his death for services to media, music and the arts.

Much of Friday’s memorial centred around Valentine’s relationship to his audience across 30 years on ABC radio and the afternoon show on 702 ABC Sydney.

“My dad lived exactly how he wanted to live … a life prioritising what he cherished. My dad found a job where he worked for 2½ hours a day,” Roy said.

“And he got you people to call in to help him out. He worked about an hour a day.

“He had no idea what he was doing at any point … sometimes you have to play a long time to figure out how to play like yourself.”

Roy ended the speech paying tribute to his mother Joanne.

“Mum has been such a source of lightness and joy during this period … I can’t believe she’s still standing at this point,” he said

“That guy has had enough of the spotlight, and if anyone needs to feel the love and concern of the city, it’s mum,” Roy added, which sparked huge applause.

Roy’s sister Ruby said their father’s life revolved around making time for the things he loved.

“He embraced our interests, big or small, as if they were the most important thing in the world,” Ruby said.

“If there was something we enjoyed that he knew nothing about, he took the time to learn – simply because it was important to us.”

Their father told his children he would not take credit for their achievements.

“In one of our last conversations, he said he didn’t want to say he was proud of me. He stressed he was very happy with who I had turned out to be and that of course he loved me,” Ruby said.

“But to say he was proud felt like he was taking credit for that – that he had some part to play in my achievements.

“But what he wasn’t taking into account is that so much of who I am comes from what he gave to me over the years … showing me how to live with compassion, empathy for others and kindness at the forefront.”

Long-time friends who also happened to share a public spotlight spoke and sung at the memorial.

Paul Kelly performed Meet Me in the Middle of the Air.

“Nobody told me I had to follow Kate Cebrano singing Amazing Grace,” Kelly said to laughter.

Close friend and Valentine’s chef in his final six months, Matt Moran, spoke of their 30-year friendship.

Moran told a story how at the millennium New Year’s Eve, the ABC snagged a designated spot to live broadcast by the side of the Opera House.

“And I can tell you, James didn’t let it get in the way of a good time,” Moran said.

Opera singer and lifelong friend from their childhoods in Ballarat, David Hobson, told stories of music and exploring instruments.

“He represented all of the qualities of a human being I admire,” Hobson said.

“James adored his family, and he structured his life to spend as much time as possible with them.”

Governor-General Sam Mostyn had also known Valentine for years, and revealed how she would work to honour her friend.

Ms Mostyn leant on her friend for advice on how to fulfil her role “at a time when it feels like our social cohesion is fraying”.

In his last email to Ms Mostyn, Valentine suggested a national Governor-General’s photo competition, with the winner to be announced on National Wattle Day, September 1.

Ms Mostyn will now endeavour to make that photo competition a reality.

“We lost a great Australian and a truly wonderful human being, but he has left us with a project,” she said.