June Louisa Smithee
June 1, 1949 – February 16, 2018
June Louisa Smithee, 68, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones on Feb. 16, 2018 at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee following an unexpected illness.
June and her identical twin sister Judy were born June 1, 1949 in Long Beach, Calif. to Eleanor Mary Wilson-Diaz. June and Judy were two of 11 children (and one of three sets of twins) born to Eleanor.
June grew up in Morgan Hill, Calif. before relocating to Washington state in 1973. She settled in Grant County and then moved to the Wenatchee Valley in the early ’80s. Always tenacious and unfathomably strong-willed, she never let any obstacle get in her way. In 1982, as a single mother to three children and working full time, June went back to school and earned her GED. She then went on to put herself through college and earn her AAA degree in Business Administration in 1985. After a few years of working as a bookkeeper and manger in the Wenatchee area she moved back to Grant County, eventually following her passion for helping children and working for the Grant County Juvenile Center. During this time she also volunteered as a CASA Guardian ad Litem. She took great pride in her work with children and later even became a foster parent and respite caregiver herself. During the last 10 years she has enjoyed working at both Cascade School District and Moses Lake School District, most recently as a paraeducator.
June loved to cook, sew and knit and was always making special gifts for her family and friends. No stranger to struggle herself, she was extremely compassionate and would do anything to help anyone who needed it. She was an amazing mother to three children and spent the last five years of her life as a doting grandmother and caregiver for her beloved grandson Oliver. As a role model, she was the epitome of independence, courage and determination. She loved deeply and was deeply loved by all who knew her. Her sense of humor, beautiful smile and easy laugh will be greatly missed by all.
June was preceded in death by her mother Eleanor Wilson-Diaz, her brother Donald Wilson, her sister Elaine Diaz and her brother Marty Diaz.
June is survived by her three children Teresa (Andrew) Disher of Peshastin, Shannon (Holly) Smithee of Wenatchee and Miranda (Mathew) Morrison of Moses Lake; her six grandchildren Tobin, Gauge, Jaden, Morgan, McKay and Oliver and her two great-grandchildren Liam and Lilly. She is also survived by her twin sister Judith (Ronald) Foiles in Kansas, brother Kenneth (Linda) Wilson in Nevada, brother Keith (Connie) Wilson in Washington, sister Ellen (Dave) Dougherty in California, sister Lorene (Rocky) Richardson in California, brother Barry (Janet) Wilson in California, brother Eugene Wilson in California and two sisters-of-the-heart Lea Smithee and Karen Woods, both in Washington.
A celebration of June’s life will be held in Moses Lake on April 7, 2018. The family will announce details for the celebration at a later date. In lieu of flowers her family asks that donations be made to her two favorite charities. Donations can be made in her honor directly to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation or Relay for Life. Donations can also be made through a GoFundMe account set up by her children which will then be split between both charities at www.gofundme.com/in-memoriam-donations-for-june.
Please express your thoughts and memories on the online guestbook at jonesjonesbetts.com. Arrangments by Jones & Jones – Betts Funeral Home.