Michael “Mike” D. Valentine, W8MM, of Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away on Monday, September 16, 2024. He was 74. Mike and his wife of 51 years, Margaret “Peg” K. Valentine, have been the most generous individual supporters of ARRL The National Association of Amateur Radio. Valentine earned his amateur radio license as a teenager. “I was first licensed as WN8MSF and WA8MSF, simultaneously in the spring of my freshman year in high school, 1964. I was a combo Novice and Technician, as was customary in those days for technically proficient beginners…,” he wrote in his biography for the Quarter Century Wireless Association.
His interests in amateur radio and electronics led Valentine to enter the electrical engineering program at the University of Cincinnati, where he met Peg. He was selected by the R. L. Drake Company as an engineering coop student. He would go on to work for Drake and Cincinnati Electronics after graduation in 1973. He co-founded Cincinnati Microwave, maker of Escort radar detectors.
Mike and Peg founded Valentine Research in 1983. The company designs, manufactures, and sells electronic devices directly to users. Their flagship model, the Valentine One®, and the Valentine One Gen2, brought many innovations in that space, including being the first radar detector to indicate the direction of the radar device relative to the vehicle. Valentine and his products have been profiled many times in automotive enthusiast media.
Together, the Valentines shared their success generously with many organizations including public television, higher education, the arts, and ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio. The Valentines are the single biggest individual donors in ARRL history. They are Millennium Class members of the ARRL Maxim Society.
Mike served on the ARRL Second Century Campaign Committee, which coincided with ARRL’s Centennial in 2014. The campaign, including the Valentine Challenge Fund which matched the dollar-for-dollar contributions of other donors, established an endowment to ensure ARRL’s ongoing commitment to amateur radio.
In 2023, ARRL awarded the Valentines the inaugural Mary Hobart, K1MMH, Medal of Distinction during a donor recognition event held in Dayton, Ohio. “To say that the Valentines are great philanthropists is an understatement,” said ARRL Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL, in remarks he made during the award presentation. “Mike and Peg have invested significantly in supporting the future of amateur radio. They have set the example for all our donors with their philanthropic leadership.”
In addition to his successful business pursuits and exceptional generosity to many organizations, Valentine could often be found cheering at University of Cincinnati Bearcats games, operating ham radio, and driving sports cars.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has published a Life Story with these additional details: A visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, from 9:30 AM until time of funeral service at 11:00 AM, at the Covenant First Presbyterian Church, 717 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. A reception will immediately follow in the Parish Hall. Burial will be held privately at Spring Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mike’s memory to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) or The Matthew Mangine Jr. One Shot Foundation.