Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba, Horizons, no. 63, Advent 2021, pp 4-5:
Fr Lino Valente, by Ingrid McTaggart

Lino Anthony Valente was born on 2 July 1928 in Shell Harbour, New South Wales. He was the eldest of three children of parents Giacoma Antonio (Tony) and Artura Tullia (Tullia) Valente. Tony Valente left the village of Cesuna, Italy, for Australia in 1924. His then-fiancee Tullia arrived in May 1927, with the couple marrying in June. While brothers Lino and Aldo (deceased) were born in New South Wales, sister Rita was born in Queensland when the family moved seeking work during the Great Depression.

Finding work at farms near Texas, the family settled in the area. Fr Wiemers, who lived in Texas, said Mass in the shearing shed at "Eldorado" once a month, the farm where the Valente's were at the time. It was a formative experience for a very young Lino.

During World War II, the family was interned near the town of Tatura, Victoria. Lino's parents were not naturalised until after the war and, like many others, were deemed "enemy aliens". During the school term in 1943, the boys were allowed to attend the Marist Brothers' school and sister Rita attended the convent school in Kilmore due to the efforts of Bendigo priest, Fr Arthur Owens.

During school holidays, the children stayed in the internment camp with their parents, where Lino would gather the Italian women to say the Rosary. The whole family was released in January 1944 and were allowed to return to the Texas area. After a good tobacco growing season in 1949, Lino's parents purchased a dairy farm called "Bellbrook" just outside Inglewood and converted it to growing tobacco and raising cattle.

By that time, Lino was 20 and already studying to be a priest at Banyo Seminary in Brisbane. He had completed school with the Christian Brothers in Warwick and Marist Brothers at Eagle Heights (Mt Tamborine). Fr Lino Valente was ordained as a priest in Warwick on 29 June 1954 by Bishop William Brennan, the first priest ordained by Bishop Brennan. His ordination to the priesthood marked the culmination of his youthful ambition. At the age of 14, Lino had told his parents he wanted to be a priest.

Fr Lino has served across the Toowoomba Diocese, pastorally caring for many communities. Since his first appointment to Dalby in 1955, Fr Lino served in Stanthorpe, Mitchell, St George, Wallangarra, Crow Nest, St Patrick's Cathedral and Inglewood. He spent a time in 1974 on loan to Annerley Parish in the Brisbane Archdiocese. Of these communities, Fr Lino spent multiple stints in various parishes, especially Stanthorpe.

Even with his busy pastoral schedule, Fr Lino made time to celebrate with his family for special occasions. He officiated many, if not all, weddings and baptisms for his immediate family. Christmases were also a family affair, with tales of Fr Lino racing to join family at Inglewood after Christmas Mass at Stanthorpe.

Fr Lino was remembered as a kind and welcoming man whose pastoral presence was appreciated by everyone who encountered him. Upon announcement of his death, many took to the diocese's Facebook page to express their condolences to the family and recall how Fr Lino had impacted their lives. Demonstrating his positive effect on the communities he served, many non-Catholics expressed their sadness at his passing, saying that he was a welcoming and warm presence to them.

In 2003, Fr Lino was awarded the Certificato Di Benemerenza from the Italian Consul Brisbane for his efforts to promote interest in Italian culture and language, a testament to his love for his Italian roots.

During his Words of Remembrance delivered at the Funeral Mass, Frank Vardanega recalled his Zio (Uncle) Lino's unique sense of humour. "He never seemed to wash his car, and in his defence, he would say 'I don't wash it so it won't rust'. If you asked him how he was going, he would many times say, 'If I were any better, I would be in heaven'."

Fr Lino officially tendered his retirement in 2003. However, not one to rest, he continued to serve as Priest in Residence for the communities of Inglewood and Wallangarra until 2015, when he moved to Stanthorpe. In 2017 Fr Lino moved to St Vincent's Care Services (Lourdes Home) Toowoomba. Fr Lino died peacefully on 14 September 2021, with his sister Rita by his side and one of his great-nieces holding his hand.

Fr Lino's nephew, Frank, summed him up best at the end of his Words of Remembrance by saying, "Uncle Lino was a larger than life character in our lives and will be sadly missed but never forgotten. He has been referred to as a 'priest's priest' and, as my daughter once said, 'the type of priest you would want for your own parish priest'."