Knights of Columbus, Council 11716
Knight of the Month, May 2024
The May 2024 Knight of the Month is SK Rich Valente. This award honors his support of the Knights of Columbus Council 11716 and to the Catholic community of Prince of Peace.
A native of Bayonne, New Jersey, located just southwest of the Statue of Liberty, Rich moved to Texas 50 years ago. He joined the Knights of Columbus in 2019 at the encouragement of his son-in-law, Seth, who himself was influenced to become a Knight by fellow Knight Dick Leyendecker (RIP)
To bring things full circle, Rich served as the RCIA sponsor of Seth and became his godfather when Seth was baptized upon completing RCIA. Rich became a Fourth Degree Knight in October 2021.
Rich served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and is thanked for his service. He and his wife, Barbara, have been married 51 years. They have a daughter who lives locally with husband, Seth, and their daughter who received her first holy communion at Prince of Peace two years ago. Their son is married and lives in California with his wife and daughter.
Rich and Barbara love attending Prince of Peace. Before moving further west in Plano, Rich and Barbara were parishioners at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church for 37 years where he and Barbara served as Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion for 10 years.
Rich belongs to the Empty Nesters group at POP. He and his wife also help with the Sunday morning donuts and coffee ministry and he specializes in making fresh coffee. During the monthly Knights of Columbus breakfast, he assists with food prep and enjoys cooking chorizo and sausage. You can also often find him hand delivering the finished omelets to guests.
During recent KoC Christmas parties, Rich has played the saxophone, an instrument he began playing as a teenager. He is also an accomplished bass guitar player.
Professionally retired from the printing industry, he enjoys playing music, golf and tennis. In the late 80s and early 90s, he was a member of the National Kidney Foundation Board and help manage the Turtle Creek Run in Dallas which included a stint as head of the run’s very popular T-shirt. Rich has completed 14 marathons including the famous Boston Marathon.