Valentino Silvano Anelli

On May 16, 2026, Valentino departed unexpectedly in Greensboro, North Carolina at the age of 15.

Valentino Anelli arrived on this planet on October 21, 2010, in Asheville, North Carolina. From the very beginning, he carried a spirit that was impossible to ignore. Valentino was one of a kind — intelligent, funny, creative, mechanically gifted, and full of personality. He left a lasting impression on nearly everyone who crossed his path.

Valentino grew up in low-income housing in Asheville, North Carolina, but he never allowed his circumstances to stop him from enjoying life to the fullest. At 12 years old, Valentino moved in full time with his father, where the bond between them grew stronger through everyday life, hard work, and shared experiences. He continued to grow into an extraordinarily capable and self-sufficient young man.

Valentino also grew up closely alongside his sister Isabella, and the two shared a strong bond throughout their lives. No matter where life took them, they remained deeply connected and cared greatly for one another.

He danced, rapped, joked constantly, and always tried to make people laugh. He had aspirations of becoming a professional race car driver and pursued that dream passionately despite being talented in countless other things. Valentino was naturally mechanically inclined and loved working with his hands. From a young age, he built complex Lego sets, had a fascination with insects and spiders, and constantly found ways to create, fix, and improve things around him.

Valentino truly was a jack of all trades and understood from an early age that the modern public school system was not the right fit for him. He faced challenges in school, but anyone who truly knew him understood that his intelligence showed itself in different ways. His talents belonged in the trades, where he could work with his hands, solve problems, build, repair, and learn through real-world experience.

Valentino helped assemble furniture countless times, cleaned out rental properties with his father, changed oil, installed headlights, detailed cars, built a 20-foot retaining wall, and even completed his father’s taxes for the first time in 2026. He became his family’s go-to person whenever there was a problem with a vehicle and was the one who regularly changed his father’s oil. He had experience in landscaping, demolition, carpentry, painting, and concrete work far beyond what most would expect from someone his age. He was always willing to help and genuinely enjoyed doing it, learning new things, and was a natural when it came to using tools, equipment, and devices. He was also an expert at creating fires and loved grilling out over campfires and making s’mores whenever he had the opportunity.

He loved hiking, the outdoors, and swimming, and once he got in the water it was almost impossible to get him out until he looked like a prune. He was a daredevil by nature and was always seeking excitement, adventure, and new experiences. He loved fishing, skateboarding, racing games, driving simulations, riding trains, and spending time with the people closest to him. Riding the bus with his mother was something he always enjoyed and became part of his deep fascination with transportation from a young age. He traveled extensively with his father, but out of all the places he experienced, he always said there was no place like Asheville and wanted to remain close to his family. He especially loved simply being in the car and was fascinated by roads, transportation systems, and infrastructure. His favorite car was a Porsche, and anytime he saw one he would excitedly point it out and say, “Look, a Porsche!” and immediately want to take a picture or selfie with it.

Music was a major part of Valentino’s life. He was inspired by the movie 8 Mile and filled notebooks with his own raps. He loved Eminem, but his favorite genre was older rock n roll.

Valentino was an incredible big brother. He clothed, fed, bathed, babysat, and looked after his younger brother Roman with love and maturity far beyond his years. He loved his baby brother very much, and the two looked remarkably alike. He cooked, cleaned, did his own laundry, managed his own money responsibly, and was the kind of young man many people aspire to become. He also loved cooking, and his specialty was deep fried chicken.

He was also a prankster with a goofy personality who loved making people laugh. Valentino collected cans and bottles and had one of the largest collections many people had ever seen. He collected chargers, electronics, random tools, “doo-dads,” and odds and ends that somehow always became useful when someone needed help. He hated throwing things away and had a remarkable ability to turn nothing into something.

He spent countless hours thrifting with his grandfather and deeply cared for his family. He helped his grandmother with her walker and health struggles, helped his grandfather with plants and heavy lifting, and assisted his great-grandmother with groceries and tasks around her property.

He had an especially close bond with his grandmother Maria. When she passed away, Valentino insisted on keeping many of her belongings and held onto them closely. He carried pieces of her with him every day and deeply valued the memories and connection they shared.

He also shared a very close bond with his cousin Demetrius, lovingly known as “DD.” The two grew up together and created countless memories throughout their childhood. They were more like brothers than cousins and remained an important part of each other’s lives.

He also always enjoyed going to his grandfather’s house, where he loved eating Italian chocolates, cheeses, and deli meats, looking through and exploring his antiques, and simply spending time with his grandfather.

Valentino had a deep fascination with transportation. He loved the Asheville Transit System and knew bus routes and numbers by memory. Whenever visiting new cities, he always wanted to ride the buses. He was equally obsessed with trains, a passion that started during childhood with Thomas & Friends.

He became a familiar face around Asheville, often recognized because of his long hair, which he didn’t cut until he was 10 years old. His family lovingly nicknamed him “Jungle Boy.”

Valentino loved retro gaming, especially the PlayStation 3, which he insisted was the greatest console ever made. He even ordered multiple systems in attempts to repair and salvage his original console.

He had an old soul and deeply enjoyed being around older generations, especially his grandmother Maria. He loved cats — especially Jack and Ginger — and proudly considered himself a cat person.

Despite everything he knew and everything he could do, Valentino remained humble and modest. He rarely asked for much, was extremely frugal, and was incredibly disciplined with saving money.

Valentino attended Asheville Primary School, Isaac Dickson Elementary School, Montford North Star Academy, Enka Middle School, Caroline Middle School, and Lucy Ragsdale High School.

Valentino’s creativity, humor, intelligence, resilience, and enormous heart touched more people than he likely ever realized. His presence was unforgettable, and his memory will continue to live on through the people who loved him.

He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Maria Anelli; his great-grandfather, James Conard; and his grandmother, Ernestine Smith.

Valentino is survived by his father, Renato Anelli; his mother, Tiona Harris-Smith; his sister, Isabella Anelli; his younger brother, Roman Anelli; his aunt, Cristina Anelli; his grandfather, Silvano Anelli; his cousin, Demetrius Anelli; his great-grandmother, Cristina Conard; his great-uncle, Jimmy Conard; cousins Lee Conard and Laurie Honeycutt; Scott Honeycutt; Payton and Sydney Honeycutt; Aunt Annie Snyder; uncles Zachary Bethune, James Peterson, and James Harris; like a brother, Josiah Kay; like an uncle, Lamar Kay; along with many other loved ones and friends.

A Memorial Service to honor the life of  Valentino will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at the Tempie Avery Montford Community Center (34 Pearson Dr.), at 2pm. Viewing will be held Friday, June 5, 2026, at Avery's Memorial Chapel from 12pm - 7pm.

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