June (Barrett) Bolinger, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, cousin, and aunt passed away on January 28, 2024, at the age of 83.

June was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, her sons, Stephen Parker Snyder, and Stephen Jeffrey Bolinger, her parents, Selmer Barrett and Pearl Wood, her sisters, Edith Hibshman and Fay Barrett, and her brothers, Don Barrett, Kenneth Barrett, and Jack Barrett.

June is survived by her daughter, Janet Sever Hull (and husband, Jeff) of Denton, Texas; her son, Brian Bolinger (and wife, Natalie) of Austin, Texas; Seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Matthew Sever and wife, Bekah, of Troy, Michigan, Ryan Sever and wife, Paige, and children, Graham, Hallie, Nolan, and Claire of McCordsville, Indiana, Jessica Bolinger and daughter, Audrey of Mishawaka, Indiana, Anna Sever of Nashville, Tennessee, Brock Bolinger of Austin, Texas, Nicole Bolinger of Austin, Texas, and Morgan Tibble and husband, Adam, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. June is also survived by many much-loved cousins and nieces and nephews.

June was born at home on Cleveland Avenue in Elkhart, Indiana on October 20, 1940, the fourth of six children. Growing up, luxuries were non-existent, but her family always had a home and food to eat.

When she was seven years old, her family moved to Woodbury, Tennessee to be closer to their extended family. She had fond memories of that time in her life, and she would say that her grandparents had no electricity, central heat, or telephone, but she remembered sitting around the fireplace in the evenings with kerosene lamps glowing softly and talking until it was time to go to sleep…on featherbeds! On Sundays, they would have breakfast with biscuits and gravy before going to church. This was where June learned to read the Bible and developed a deep and abiding faith in God. Her family lived in Tennessee for about a year and then moved back to Elkhart, Indiana.

Her parents bought an 80-acre farm outside of Elkhart in an area called Jimtown. It was a very rural area, and the family planted a huge garden every year and this was the beginning of June's lifelong love of gardening.

June attended Jimtown Junior High and Jimtown High School and was the first in her family to graduate. After high school, she went to work for Bell Telephone and then later, Miles Laboratories, the makers of Alka-Seltzer and One A Day Vitamins. A short time later, while working in the office at Phillips Music, she met her future husband, Paul. They were married on June 17, 1966, at Jimtown United Methodist Church. They were happily married for 56 years until Paul's death in December of 2022, and they gave us all a wonderful example of a marriage where both people loved and cherished one another.

June worked various jobs over the years but was most happy being a stay-at-home mom when her children were growing up. She embraced being a mom and she loved taking care of her children and her home. She had many interests and being home allowed her to pursue them.

She was a fabulous cook and was known especially for her signature dishes…homemade potato salad, banana pudding and biscuits and gravy.

June could do any kind of needlework and she tried them all. In the days before the internet and YouTube, she would find a book or a class, or a person to help her learn. Over the years, she sewed clothing for her family, knitted, crocheted, did needlepoint, crewel, applique, embroidery, counted cross stitch, macrame, and quilting. She found that she loved embroidery and quilting the best and during the cold winters in Indiana, she would work on her projects indoors. When her grandchildren left for college, she made each of them their own quilt.

In the warmer months, she couldn't wait to go outdoors to work in her gardens. She researched how to prepare the soil and the best places to plant different types of flowers. She had a vegetable garden every year and the size of it was dependent on whether she had a job outside of the home.

June used to say that Paul loved new things and she loved old things. Her idea of a fun Saturday was to go through antique shops or to auctions in search of "treasures."

Music was a love and a constant in June's life. She either had the radio on or she listened to music from her extensive collection. She and Paul attended many concerts together over the years and she even got to meet her favorite singer, country star Bill Anderson, at one concert.

Finally, the passion of June's life was her family. Her children and grandchildren were her pride and joy and she loved it the most when everyone was together. When the entire extended family was able to get together, June was in her element, and she delighted in spending time catching up with everyone.

Losing her son, Jeff, unexpectedly in 2006 was the most difficult time of her life. At the time, she was inconsolable and said, "A child should never die before their parent. It isn't the natural order of things."

June lived her entire adult life in Elkhart until she and Paul moved to Denton, Texas in 2012 to live closer to their children. It was hard for her to leave her life-long friends and extended family, but she loved the Texas weather and especially being in the same town with her children and half of her grandchildren.

The family will hold a funeral service for June on Thursday, February 8th at Mulkey-Bowles Montgomery Funeral Home, 705 N. Locust, Denton, Texas with visitation at 9:30 a.m. and the service at 10:30 a.m. A private family burial will be held later in the day at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Gifts in lieu of flowers may be made in memory of June Bolinger to the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation at www.birthmark.org or may be mailed to: The Vascular Birthmarks Foundation, P.O. Box 106, Latham, NY 12110