Homeland Residents Sue and Steve Valoczki: A Life of Adventure
Sue and Steve Valoczki spend a lot of time joshing around with Homeland staff.
“The staff is very nice,” said Steve. “They’re interactive and make sure you’re comfortable. They have a good sense of humor. I have to be on my toes for them.”
“They tease us a lot,” added Sue.
Since coming to Homeland in February 2024, the Valoczkis have settled into spacious adjoining rooms in personal care. The stylish décor in Steve’s room includes ceramics collected over the years and an antique trunk converted to a coffee table.
Steve immigrated to the United States from Germany when he was five years old. When Steve arrived in Detroit, Steve’s father worked in a steel mill and his mother worked in food service.
Steve’s Hungarian father and his German mother met in a displaced persons camp after World War II. His father, a proud Hungarian who hated the Nazis and the Communists, was conscripted to command tanks for the German Army. After leading in 44 tanks in Stalingrad, he was told to stay there waiting for supplies.
Instead “he got up one day, got all his guys together, and said, ‘Menjünk haza,’ which is Hungarian for, ‘Let’s go home,’” said Steve. “He turned those tanks around and went back to Hungary. He gave himself up to the English and sat in that camp until the war ended.”
From his father, Steve learned never to give up.
“My father lost his leg in an industrial accident,” he said. “He healed and went right back to work.”
Sue grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with three sisters, including a twin. Her father, who was in advertising, created a famous Chevy commercial showing a car floating down a raft in the Grand Canyon. She was a high school athlete, competing in “all the sports – tennis, basketball, lacrosse, swimming.” At 17, she and her twin took up competitive sailing.
“Then we’d go to the regattas at night and have a fun party,” she said.
Sue and Steve met at Ferris State University in Michigan.
“He was a lot of fun, and we were pretty much a hot couple on campus,” Sue said. “We had a good time together.”
They got married in 1971. Jobs were tight. Steve graduated in 1970, but through a fraternity brother, he got a job with a distributor of Gallo wines just when Gallo was amping up its marketing efforts
Steve embraced the work and stayed in wine and spirits sales for his career. The couple lived in Detroit, Wisconsin, Miami Beach, Chicago, and West Chester, PA. In Miami, Steve acquired accounts that even the top executives couldn’t crack “just by service and showing up.”
The jobs took the couple all over the world. Throughout Europe, they were treated royally, with five-course meals and behind-the-scenes tours of wineries. In a wine cellar in Spain, Steve lightly touched a bottle high up, and suddenly, they started rattling.
“My heart stood still,” Steve says now. Luckily, the bottles stayed in place.
Sue had a successful career in banking. Aside from the “exciting times” — her term for the two robberies she experienced — she was responsible for growing the business and connecting with various people.
While living in West Chester, the couple raised their children: a daughter who is now a cardiac intensive care unit nurse and a son who played football at Penn State and today sells medical devices. Their five grandchildren inherited their grandmother’s athleticism, playing softball, field hockey, and football.
At Homeland, the Valoczkis’ constant companion is Rue, their personable, seven-year-old rescue Jack Russel terrier. The first time they met her, she hopped onto the picnic table where the Valoczkis were sitting and kissed Steve on the nose.
Sue keeps dog treats handy for staff to give Rue.
“We should get some sort of compensation because the people here love her,” she joked. “She’s like a therapy dog. She really does bring a lot of comfort to people.”
Troy Beaver was weighing three job offers when his dad’s hospice nurse told him what keeps her going every day.
An anniversary is more than commemorating the passage of time. It is a celebration of the people and relationships that have made each year special. As Homeland Hospice celebrated its 15th anniversary with its “History, Heart & Honor… Hats off to the Homeland Hospice 15th” event on Saturday, November 23, we honored and thanked Securewire Technologies for serving as Homeland’s 2024 Trilogy of Trust sponsor.
Homeland Center, a licensed not-for-profit Continuing Care Retirement Community occupying a full block in uptown Harrisburg, has been named a 
Anniversaries remind us of meaningful moments in time that shaped our history and guided our future. Fifteen years ago, Homeland launched Homeland Hospice as an outreach program to provide compassionate care to patients on their end-of-life journey. The years have been filled with an overarching theme of love. Hundreds of patients, families, volunteers and staff have shared their hearts with us making Homeland Hospice more than an organization. We are a family.
Planning for this event began more than a year ago with longtime volunteers, like Alicelyn Sleber, who are lending their creativity and love of Homeland to create an experience for all attendees. Alicelyn is the immediate past chair of Homeland Center’s Board of Managers.
