Valeri Braun

Valeri Gertrude Julia Marie Grier Braun grew up in the 1950s and 1960s in the small town of Nutley, New Jersey. According to her parents, she was related to former pro football player Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier. Val took piano lessons, and both played and sang regularly for her gospel church choir (her mother was an evangelist). All through high school, she sang in the glee club, which made an appearance at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65. A gifted singer and performer, she joined the professional rock band The Uncharted Bus in 1969. The Bus performed regularly in a circuit of clubs in northern New Jersey, including the Choo Choo Club in Garfield, where the Young Rascals had come to fame. In 1970, the Bus also opened at Ungano's in Manhattan for Black Sabbath (featuring Ozzie Osbourne), and for Woodstock veterans Ten years After in a theater in Passaic New Jersey. The band recorded for Jerry Ragavoy at the Hit Factory in New York City. Internal problems prevented the Uncharted Bus from fulfilling its potential. Val's first love was the theater. After failing to join the Broadway cast of Hair, she performed regularly in community theaters in New Jersey. After relocating to southern California, she became a fixture at the Morgan-Wixson Theater in Santa Monica. There, she received numerous awards for acting, singing, stage managing and musical direction. On May 4, 2010, Valeri passed away in Atlanta, Georgia, due to complications of breast cancer. She was 62 years old. Four years earlier, her daughter Jessica had died from the same disease. She spoke frequently of her prayers that this horrid disease be brought under control.