June Marie Esche's Obituary
June was born to Rev. William and Bessie Pryor, in Ishpeming, Michigan, the youngest of three children. Her brother, Theodore, and sister, Pauline, and June lived in many parts of Michigan as her father was assigned to different parishes. She graduated from Deckerville High School, attended Port Huron Junior College, and graduated from the Hurley Hospital School of Nursing in 1940. She subsequently joined the Army and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps in 1941.
While stationed at Selfridge Field, Michigan, she met Albert Esche, -Å"Red- as she always called him. They were married on June 5, 1942, by her father, Rev. William Pryor. June continued her connection with the military as a dependent to Lt. Esche. They had two children, Junal, born in 1943 and Tim, born in 1948. Throughout their military life, June remained active in nursing, particularly with the Red Cross as a volunteer nurse for over 40 years. After living in Louisiana, Florida, Germany, New York, Japan, and Okinawa, the Esche's were stationed in 1959, at McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington. June returned to the university, and graduated with her B.S. in Nursing in 1965 from Pacific Lutheran University. She later joined the teaching faculty of St. Joseph's School of Nursing and when the school closed, she became the first CDC certified Infection Control Nurse in Pierce and King Counties. She continued in this position until her retirement from St. Joseph's Hospital. In their retirement, June and Red continued both their love of travel, volunteerism, and being active, involved grand parents. While living in Lakewood, WA, June continued to volunteer with the American Red Cross, the thrift store on McChord, and at Madigan Hospital where she often was seen in her -Å"clown- outfit visiting wards and handing out treats. When she wasn't volunteering or being a grand mother, she and Red were fortunate, enough to be able to visits parts of the world to which they had not been. Between retirement and their mid eighties, they visited the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, China, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Mexico, Europe, Russia, Egypt, and the Holy Land. June and Red moved to Patriot's Landing, DuPont, WA, from their home in Lakewood in 2006. June enjoyed her four years in DuPont where she renewed old acquaintances and met many new friends. She continued her affiliation with the Red Cross, the ARROWS, and the Red Hat Society. Over the years, she received many awards for her work and volunteerism. Among those awards were the Clara Barton Honor Award from the American Red Cross and the creation of a local Red Cross award named in her honor, -Å"The June Esche Volunteer of the Year Award.- June battled many illnesses over the past few years, but was always determined to remain optimistic and prevail, which she did on numerous occasions. She died in her new home at Patriot's Landing on Christmas Day surrounded by family and her husband of 68 years, -Å"Red.- She was interred at Tahoma National Cemetery on Thursday, December 30, 2010. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, and sister. She is survived by her husband, Albert Esche, her children; Junal Phister and Tim Esche and his wife Julie; and by three grandchildren; Scot Phister, Ean Esche, and Erin Esche. There will be a Celebration of Life for June Esche, on Saturday, January 22, 2011, at 1:30 pm at Patriot's Landing in DuPont, Washington. The American Red Cross is suggested for remembrance donations.
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