June Iris Clark's Obituary
June Iris Clark , Born to Anna and Walter Craig in Chelan Washington, as a toddler moved to Tacoma Washington. A bright, energetic child, she had many adventures that wouldinclude lots of mischief. She and her friends decided to “borrow” coffins from the nearby factory to float in a nearby pond. People passing by were shocked to see coffins with legs crossing the road one night. She also wanted to test out her Uncles’ World War 1 army helmet and talked one of the neighbor boys into wearing it while she hit his head with a hammer. Legend has it that after this incident the boy pronounced June (Goon) and her sister Arlene (Ferine).
During the Great Depression June and her mother, sister, and step father moved to a family farm in Grand Rapids (Sugar Lake) Minnesota. June was soon a Sugar Lake fixture riding her bull, Jiggs, to school and charging kids a nickel a ride. Married at 16 to James Henry Wynn (Pat), June was a young mother to her children Patricia Lenore and Arnie. Lenore was a perfect 9 pound baby and the nurses were surprised to hear June sobbing in her hospital room after she was born. June hadn’tpreviously seen a newborn and didn’t know her legs weren’t supposed to be straight. She didn’t know how to cook much and her babies were healthy and fat on a steady diet of mashed potatoes. She ran everywhere she went and she and her family loved living by the lake with many pets. Always a lover of music, she fondly remembered the family singing and fiddle playing parties.
Tragically her young husband was killed in a mining accident when June was carrying their third child.
Grief stricken, June and her two children boarded a train to Washington to be close to family. Donna Arlene was born in Tacoma and was the darling of her Grandmother (Annie) and Aunt Arlene.
June met Billy Casey and they married when he was discharged from the Navy after serving in World War 2. They soon bought a 9 acre farm in Midland that included chickens, cows, kids and many relatives who lived there through the years. June and Arlene had many adventures learning to drive, and working in factories. She famously sewed all of the men’s pants flies shut at one of her short lived jobs. This was a running joke as both she and Arlene had applied and Arlene, an excellent seamstress, wasn’t hired. In 1953, their son Dann Duane was born and 3 ½ years later Dann was overjoyed to have a baby sister, Lori Lynne. His famous quote “if you had to get me a baby why’d you get such a mean one”. A month after Lori was born Lenore married Jerry Brogan and their first baby Tamara Kathleen was born 18 months later. June became “Grandma June” at age 36. Lenore had three more children Jerry Max, Deborah Colleen and James Patrick.
Arnie a Golden Glove champion boxer, joined the navy and boxed for the Navy Team. Handsome and popular Arnie was a favorite with his fellow sailors and the girls he met in his travels. Heartache befell June again when Arnie home on leave in 1962 was killed in an auto accident. She poured her grief into a beautiful poem, a family treasure to this day.
Donna married Doug Homes and they moved to Bordeaux France. She became a proud mother to Debra Jean and Denise Jeneane. After settling in Puyallup Washington, Dean Russell was born.
Unimaginably, another sorrow for June in 1967, her beloved Lenore was killed in an auto accident leaving 4 small children. June again poured her heart into a beautiful poem for Lenore. June soldiered on as only she could and began working for the Franklin Pierce School district as a custodian and later obtained her high pressure boiler license. She worked for the school district until her retirement at age 67.
In 1968 June, Dann and Lori moved to Puyallup. June loved her home and loved to entertain. Her gardens were the envy of the neighborhood. Especially her famous year round blooming Rhody, she called Purple Peter. She credited this to a special fertilizer but after Donna and Lori had many drinks and tried to steal it in the middle of the night they found it was plastic and had a cement base. Family and friends gathered and had many great times around the family table. She met Ray Clark and he was the love of her life. He was easy going and would help anyone. He taught Dann and Lori to drive and put up with their teenage antics (especially Lori’s). They married in 1975 and purchased another farm in Yelm on a street she named Hickory Lane, even though there wasn’t a Hickory tree to be seen. She and Ray were at the local Moose Club and a Women’s National Champion arm wrestler came in. She asked how did one arm wrestle and while being shown she turned the woman’s arm. After consistently repeating this she was asked to compete professionally but she turned them down as she was a grandma many times over.
She became a grandma yet again to Dann’s three boys MichaelNabil, Clifford Kahn and Joshua Allen and later Lori’s, TaraPatricia, Casey Lee and her youngest granddaughter, Emily Lynne. She loved babies, her kids knew once they had babies they were second fiddle. It’s hard to find a picture of June without a baby on her lap. Now the grandbabies were having babies! Grandma June became a great grandmother to Tammy’s son Jason at age 58. Donna treasures a 5 generation photo of great-great Grandma June with Donna, Denise, Christina, and Christina’s son Brody. June knew all of their birthday’s even as she lost count of how many there are after the number passed 35. They were all precious and to quote Grandma June- thesmartest, most beautiful, children ever! She loved to spoil them and they all have fond memories of staying at Grandma Junes and eating lots of junk and her making hotcakes.
While still living in Puyallup, June’s friends planned a birthday lunch for her. After carefully choosing her outfit, hours of make-up, and a trip to the hairdresser she decided to take her new car through the car wash. Alas, she had forgotten to close the sunroof all of the way and the soapy water poured on her head. With soap in her eyes, she pushed the sunroof button and instead of shutting it opened all of the way. She famously stated“ And Then Came The Wax” ! Sopping with water, soap and her hair drenched in car wax she drove home as her friends wondered why she didn’t come to her birthday lunch. She loved to tell stories and no one could tell them like she did.
Her mother, Annie passed away in 1987 at 88 years of age.
Her beloved Ray died at age 65, soon after he retired. Later that year her dear sister Arlene passed away. She moved to Yakima to be close to family and quickly became the belle of the senior housing development. She usually had a grandchild staying at her house and her oven was always full of cookies. She was a horrible driver and backed into her garage door many times. She blamed it on Pea Soup fog and someone thought her driveway was the street, although the door was broken the opposite way. After her kids talked her into getting a life alert, often she would accidently trigger the alarm. Lori received a call from the EMS saying June wouldn’t answer her phone or the door and they were going to have to break down the door. Lori called her and she answered after one ring. When asked why she didn’t pick up the phone for the emergency people she said she didn’t answer 800 numbers. When asked why she didn’t answer the door she replied she didn’t have her make up on.
In the years after losing Ray, June’s granddaughter’s Tammy, Debbie Holmes, and Kristi and little Violet Holmes passed away. She had faith like a child’s and knew all of her loved ones were in a better place. She would grieve for a time but keep moving forward. People who met her would be shocked that this tough, upbeat person had gone through so much sorrow. In her last years she endured tremendous physical suffering with extreme bravery and fortitude. She was happy to sit on her patio and read until late into the night and loved to visit with her wonderful neighbors who were taking such great care of her.
As her wounds became debilitating and the pain unbearable, she never asked “why me?” June was so happy to have her family around and cherished time with her daughter in law, Brenda, who cared for her like she was her own mother. Her son in law, Bob was so kind and compassionate and Brian would cheer her up with his wicked sense of humor. She was actively looking for new medical treatments right up to the end; even as she spent her last days at a Skilled Nursing facility. The aides and nurses just loved her and thought she was so funny. Right before she passed, they knew something was wrong when she didn’t want her make-up and hair done.
She passed peacefully and rather unexpectedly. On Friday, August 5th she suddenly announced she was going to die that night. She fell asleep and opened her eyes once to say “I love you”. It’s hard to believe this dynamic personality is no longer with us. She lives on in her family and the many friends who loved her. She was a force to be reckoned with and she will love the gardens in heaven.
There is no death, only a change of worlds.
- Chief Seattle
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