Valeria Tariq

Celebrating the Life of Valeria Arlene Tariq

Valeria Arlene Tariq was and forever will be a beloved mother, sister, aunt, or friend to many. She was born on the 5th day of February in 1943 to Velmer Elizabeth Booker and Dave Larney Booker in Omaha, Nebraska. She was the second eldest and only girl child of three siblings, Leonard Orson West and Dave L. Booker, and Robert Charles Booker. Valeria was a loving and supportive daughter to her mother, who worked outside the home as a domestic worker. During her mother’s absence from the home, at a young age, Valeria was an avid reader and stand-in mom for her brothers. She cooked, maintained the household, and nurtured her brothers, between attending to her schoolwork and reading her favorite books.

Valeria moved to Los Angeles, California, with her family in 1960 and graduated from Banning High School that same year. Valeria enjoyed the warm climate and her new life in California. At the age of 21, she met and fell in love with a young barber, Arthur Lee Tariq. They soon married and later had three children. After the dissolution of their marriage, she found her lifelong companion, Edward Morris, and they had two children.

Mother Valeria taught her children the values of love, support, and fidelity to one another. She also emphasized and demonstrated, through her actions, the importance of courage, resilience, and independence. For example, she was a voracious reader of romance novels, murder mysteries, and other works of fiction while raising her children. However, in the 1980s, at the dawn of the personal computer era, she transitioned to reading nonfiction. She began reading instructional manuals to learn how to operate the new computer system of the time, MS-DOS. Her profound curiosity for learning led her to develop new skills, pursue employment opportunities, and seek higher education.

Valeria became a student at Long Beach City College at the age of 48 and graduated on May 24, 1994, with an Associate of Arts degree. Her employment history includes work as a Resources Specialist for Harbor Occupational Center, Administrative Assistant for Long Beach City College, and finally an Instructional Aide and Receptionist for Educational Partnership High School from 1995 to retirement in 2012.

Valeria was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, and her daughter Kamara Tariq. She is survived by her life-long companion, Edward Morris, and their children, Genea and Sean Morris, Sr.; her eldest children, Hakim Tariq and his wife Jodi, Amena Glenda Tariq and her husband Nathan; her sister-in-law, Stephanie de Visser and her husband Cedric; as well as grandchildren- Jawhara and Tajah Tariq, Sean Morris, Jr., Perjanay Morris, Semaj Morris, Amier Morris, Zaci Morris, Zaniyah, Zariyah Morris, Shanti Morris, and Hasan Morris; and two great grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.

Valeria Tariq, 82, born on February 05, 1943, in Omaha, NE, United States, passed away July 20, 2025. She resided in Paramount, CA at the time of her passing. Arrangements are under the care of Forest Lawn, Long Beach, CA.