June Miller

June Miller was her own woman. With her determined nature and organized ways, she knew what she wanted and directed her own path. She loved the outdoors and all nature provided; she was a charitable woman who stood by the things she believed in. One of a kind, June will be dearly missed and remembered.

Born to Thurl and Mildred (Marquardt) LaValley on May 1, 1941, June joined her older sister, Marsha in their family home. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan where she attended local schools and graduated from high school with hopes of a bright future.

June went on to further her education at Wayne State University where she began her teaching career, earning her teaching certificate in 1963. June spent some time in Delaware teaching in the Newark Special School District and eventually made her way back to Michigan where she continued her education at Western Michigan University. June taught for the Kalamazoo Public Schools where she loved teaching first and second grades at Chime Elementary and finishing her career at Arcadia Elementary.

Although June never had children of her own, her life was filled with the love and admiration of the many children she taught throughout the years. Her love for teaching held no bounds, and she was great working with little ones so eager to learn. She found ways of implementing her love for playing her guitar and the piano for the kids through her lessons. In later years, after retiring from teaching, June continued her calling in teaching by volunteering for the Kalamazoo Literacy Council, in all respects, June was an advocate for education and literacy.

In 1973, June met the gentleman who would walk by her side for the rest of their days together. With a beaming smile and a heart of gold, Mason “Mike” Miller walked into her life through the introduction by mutual friends. From the very beginning, June and Mike shared much in common. They were married on October 27, 1973 when she gained 4 stepdaughters, Sherry, Cindy, Margie and Barbie and would eventually become Grandma June to 5 grandchildren, Chaz, Bryce, Corbin, Amanda and Mitchell.

For 38 years, June and Mike shared their mutual love of nature with countless trips to the cabin, hiking and taking in the grandeur of the mountains in Colorado and Montana, traveling the country in their camper and enjoying a cruise to Alaska. They both got such joy sharing their lives and adventures with close friends and family. They enjoyed the adventures of life and June even acquired her pilot’s license just in case she ever needed to fly Mike’s plane!

June’s love of nature started at home, she tended to a beautiful flower garden and could tell you every bird that visited the bird feeder outside her back window. When traveling, June had an inquisitive nature that in order to identify new species, she always had handy her bird and flower books.

After purchasing Mike’s parents cabin on the Manistee River in Fife Lake, June and Mike created a wonderful haven for their family and friends to share memorable times. They opened the cabin for all to enjoy the fishing, hunting, canoeing and kayaking that was the joy of being “at the cabin”.

June had many pleasures in life; she was a reader like no other, whether she was sitting by the bank of the river or with the cat and dog snuggled on her lap, she enjoyed a good book. She was a great cook and enjoyed hosting family gatherings at holidays and birthdays, she was known for her scrumptious lasagna and crab dip that family and friends always looked forward too. She had lifelong friends in Mary Pat, Linda and Deanna, just to name a few; memories of hiking in the mountains, dinners and laughter at Fife Lake Inn, sitting by a glowing fire, floating the Manistee or simply crocheting while enjoying a glass of wine brought her joy. She was there for friends in their times of need, an shoulder to lean on during life’s ups and downs, she never forgot a birthday and June could write a letter with so much detail that when you read her stories, you felt like you were there with her.

June had a love of music, spanning from the sounds of John Denver with his shared love of nature, Carole King’s soulful singing to classical music which she shared with Mike, most recently, by attending the Kalamazoo Symphony and theater events. June had a heart for giving and donated to many charities as a member of the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Nature Center, American Veterans and more.

At the age of 71, just 2 days shy of her birthday, June Miller, of Kalamazoo died at Borgess Medical Center on Monday, April 29, 2013. Cremation will take place. A Celebration of Life service for June will be held Thursday, May 2, 2013, 11:00 am at the Life Story Funeral Home. Betzler-Kalamazoo, 6080 Stadium Dr, Kalamazoo…followed by a luncheon in the Life Story Center. She was preceded in death by her husband, Mason Miller in 2012, her mother, Mildred LaValley, “Unc”, her sister, Marsha LaValley, and stepdaughter, Cindy Nikolaas. Members of her family include three stepdaughters, Sherry Bruner, Marge (Jim) Hatton and Barbara Miller; five grandchildren; Chaz, Bryce, Corbin, Amanda and Mitchell. Please visit June’s personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read her Life Story, archive a memory, add a photo and sign her memory book online before coming to the funeral home. Memorial donations may be directed to the Kalamazoo Literacy Council.