Valerie Bradt Hymes, 91, aka Val Hymes, a pioneer journalist in the Maryland and Washington, DC from the 1950s–1980s, died on August 16, 2023 in Annapolis, MD, after an extended hospitalization for circulation and coronary problems.

Born in Washington State on April 18, 1932, her parents were Wilber E. Bradt, a chemistry professor and later an army officer in World War II, and Norma Sparlin Bradt, a pianist and writer, who after Wilber's death in 1945, married Monte F. Bourjaily, a prominent entrepreneur and journalist.

Val's earliest years were spent in Washington State and Maine. During the war, in the absence of her father, she lived with her mother and brother, Hale, in New York City or at St. John Baptist School, in Mendham, NJ and went on to attend Barnard College at Columbia University transferring to Columbia University.

She began her journalistic career as a teen columnist for the Globe Syndicate, printed in eight newspapers, then went on to work at Columbia's Alumni News where she met and married Donald L Hymes after she graduated in 1954.

After their wedding, Don joined the Navy and was stationed at the Patuxent Naval Air Station where Val worked as reporter at the The Enterprise Newspaper in Lexington Park, MD, later joined by Don as Editor when he left the Navy. It was there they made a huge impact with their reporting of local corruption to unseat the Dorsey political machine amid multiple threats to their lives.

She then went on to report for the Washington Post and later to write her weekly column The State of Things with Don, which that ran in 35 local Maryland papers covering Maryland politics. Soon after Val started as a free-lance radio reporter for WTOP and WANN while living in Edgewater and raising her three boys with her husband Don.

Val's LIVE reporting of the 1972 shooting of Alabama Governor Wallace at the Laurel shopping center during his run for president, had worldwide audience and led to National Award from the Society of Professional Journalists (Sigma Delta Chi). Later she would serve as a Regional Director for five states. Local television station WJZ recruited Val to report from Annapolis. Including coverage of the Agnew trial and Mandel scandals.

She soon left Annapolis for Washington to become Bureau Chief and reporter for Westinghouse Broadcasting with six stations including Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston, working from the House Radio TV Gallery on Capitol Hill. In the early 80's Val was one of the first reporters at CNN in Washington. She was considered a TV pioneer by her colleagues and known for her no quit attitude. She made many friendships with leaders including President Jimmy Carter, Rep. Tip O'Neill, Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. Howard Baker as well as then Sen. Biden of Delaware.

Val left the Washington news scene in the mid 1980's and she continued to write features for the Capital Newspaper in Annapolis, and fed a national network news briefs on criminal justice issues Prison Ministry Network News, Maryland Church News, Bay Times, Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Life.

In early 2000's Val became the director of Maryland Episcopal Diocesan Prison Ministry Task Force, working with lifers and their families as an advocate for inmates of all backgrounds, lifers, prison reform, reentry programs, a gang peace initiative and for repeal of the death penalty.

She helped found Camp Amazing Grace at the Bishop Claggett Center, She  they believed must do something for the children of the prisoners or a high percentage of them will someday be incarcerated. "We must break the cycle."

Val studied voice and piano at a young age, and choral singing became a lifelong passion. She was a founder of the annual Messiah Sing-alongs at St. James Episcopol Church in Lothian and sang with the Singers Madrigal for many years in Annapolis.

She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Donald, of Severna Park, three sons, Dale and Penny Hymes of San Jose, CA, Scott Hymes and Marissa of Severna Park, and Gary Hymes of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Step Grandsons, Chris and Diego Nanney of Severna Park, brother Hale V. Bradt of Peabody, MA, sisters Abigail Campi of Delray Beach, FL and Dale Anne Bourjaily of Santpoort-Noord, Netherlands.

A Memorial gathering will be held on Friday September 8, 2023 from 1:30pm-2:00pm with a Memorial service to follow at 2:00pm at Barranco Severna Park Funeral Home & Cremation Care, P.A. 495 Ritchie Hwy Severna Park, MD 21146.