June Stevens

I wrote this card to June, Sept. 2019

My darling Cousin June,

I may not have yet told you of the tremendous influence you have had on my life. I have always looked up to you, from my earliest memory of you when I was about 4 yrs old and you talked to me about what you did at work. I didn’t remember what you did, but I did remember how important you made me feel that you would explain it to me.

As the years passed I observed your ‘WonderWoman’ qualities as you looked after the 4 girls during Val’s days of inability – and the way you selflessly made clothes for your Mum and Val and the girls, always considering others and being so giving of your time and talents to family and friends alike. You always had a ‘Can Do’ attitude – and this has rubbed off on me.

In short, let me just say, that in some small way it seems to me that
‘I am, because You were.’

Hi my name is Patti Hunter my mum Irene Jackson , knew your mum , I don’t know how long this will be here , my mum wanted to write some words about your mum , it’s just finding the time to sum , everything up in her words , so if she doesn’t make it in time , she will send you a letter, thanks Patti Hunter on behalf of Irene Jackson , kotara

Eulogy for June Stevens. 07 June 1928 – 23 Sep 2022. (94 years old) by her daughter, Rebecca Heath.
June Madden was born at her home on the 7th June 1928. The eldest child of Harry and Edie, she was soon to have a sister, Val, only 18 months later, on Christmas Day 1929.

When Mum was 8 years old, the family moved from Islington to Murray Square, Mayfield. Their new home had a very large back yard and at the bottom of the vegetable garden was a pond where they kept ducklings. They also had some lambs, rescued from drought and at one stage, a kangaroo. Along with various cats, her two uncles also lived with the family and two aunts and an uncle lived next door, and Uncle Denny’s blacksmith shop. So during her young life, she was surrounded by family. Family meant love, care and security. A basic truth within our family that carries forward with each generation.

At 41/2 Mum attended kindergarten at Waratah and walked the two miles from home. She was later hindered by her mischievous little sister, who would never carry her own school case. Primary school at Tighes Hill saw her always the top of her class.

She began high school at Central Girls’ High, Hamilton South at the age of eleven. During this time she read profusely and her father would double her on the bar of his bicycle twice a week to the School of Arts Lending Library at Tighes Hill. She was Dux of her school at the Intermediate Certificate with 8A’s. She was 14 1/2. Mum started work in the office at BHP on her 15th birthday. At the medical examination before starting work, the doctor asked her if her nickname was Mossie because she was as skinny as a Hexham Grey mosquito. At 15, after a responsible day of work, she would come home and play hop scotch with the local children.

Four years later, at the age of 19, she worked at Nesca where she met her lifelong friend Lucy Keys. June then took a job in a finance company at the Bank Corner where she ran the office. Her sister Val began work in the same office and they both attended dances in Newcastle.

Mum used to tell a story that during the war a Japanese submarine managed to enter Newcastle Harbour and the siren sounded for the residents of Newcastle and the inner suburbs to flee to their air-raid shelters. Instead of running for the shelters, the residents stood out in the streets and watched the “fireworks” as the submarine was fired upon.

Holidays were spent at Belmont Bay Camping Area for six weeks over each Christmas period. A truck had to be hired to take their belongings and camping equipment to Belmont and even though the girls didn’t want to go, they made the best of it by attending dances. June and Val met Jack and Eric there. Dad’s sister met Uncle Eric’s brother, Kel and so our families became intertwined. The boys were at Belmont Bay sailing VJ dingies in the summer races. The girls danced every dance with these boys for the next six weeks, even though Uncle Eck jived so enthusiastically that his toothbrush kept shooting out of his top pocket.

June and Jack married on the 7th January 1949 at St Andrews Anglican Church, Mayfield. Val was bridesmaid and Eric was best man. They honeymooned in Brisbane after which they bought a block of land in Kotara and Dad, his new father-in-law “Brownie” and his brothers-in-law, Tom and Bobby, built their home. They lived with Mum’s parents for two years, which showed Dad what a family could be and his father-in-law became his best mate for life. They moved into their new home at lock-up stage, with no plaster, no ceilings and no furniture. Mum made cushions to top the packing cases they used as chairs before they could afford two cane chairs that they set in front of the open fireplace with raised feet resting on the brickwork.

Mum had her children’s names chosen and intended to use Simon and Timothy if they had boys. Dad bought her two kittens and named them Simon and Timothy. Obviously, he didn’t like those names for his sons…not that he got any sons.

Along with Eva & Kel, Val & Eric and the girls’ parents, they spent each weekend for eight months of every year, with the ‘boys’ sailing and the ‘girls’ sitting on the banks of Lake Macquarie. The boys becoming champion VJ sailors.

I was born in October 1954 and the story Mum and Dad told was, that I never slept and they thought they might as well have another baby straight away as two could not be any worse than this one.

Mum’s sister, Val contracted polio during her second pregnancy. Eric and Virginia moved in with us and after Val’s hospitalisation, the whole family came to live with the Stevens. Both Mum and Dad gave Val intensive physiotherapy and when the family went home to Gateshead, Mum and her mother went to Val’s every day to help with the housework and the baby. Baby Jacaleen went home with Gran every night and Eric continued the physiotherapy. (I always had a sneaking suspicion that Gran preferred Jacaleen).

Amanda was born in April 1957. Our family, the Stevens, the Grays, the Maddens, still spent the majority of their time together. Dad and Uncle Eric and Uncle Kel now sailed 16′ sailing boats. Mum and Aunty Val sat on the bank under umbrellas and we four girls, cousins, played in the water. The whole extended family spent holidays camping at Legg’s Camp or Tuncurry, where Eric had family. We needed no outside friendships, we had each other.
It was not until I started investigating our ancestry that I realise that Uncle Eck’s family were not my aunts and uncles. That his parents were not my third set of grandparents. In one fell swoop, I lost at least 10 family members. It was very upsetting.

Mum had always sewn. She had made Val’s and her debutante dresses when she was only 15. She made clothes for her mother and sister, for we children and her nieces and she made clothes for our dolls. They were the best dressed dolls in town. But she had no formal training, no documentation, so before we became school age, Mum went to Tech at night for three years to become a primary school sewing teacher. She said a sewing teacher was not given any respect and when she started working at Newcastle East Primary School, she had to teach in a “lean to” in the school grounds, with a dirt floor and splintered lunch benches. At Hamilton South Public School, where she did have a classroom, she taught sewing to primary school girls for many years. Then the subject changed to “craft” and then she had to teach boys. She retired soon after. Boys were not the only reason she retired. She had lost her mum around the same time and then spent time with her Dad before he moved into Val’s house at Gateshead.

In her early 40’s she began playing lawn bowls after Dad joined Kotara Bowling Club to play with his father-in-law, still his best mate.

Over the years, Mum became more heavily involved with the bowling club, and was to hold the office of treasurer, secretary, president, games secretary and delegate. She prided herself in becoming an umpire and keeping up to date with all the rule changes. I have listened to Mum speak about what was happening in the club for forty years. Who won and lost minor and major premierships, who were selected for the pennant teams and even who drove the car and who sat in the front and back of the car to “away” games. When the men’s club became incorporated, Mum joined as a member and, for many years, was the only woman to attend their meetings.

Amanda and I have typed membership lists, financial statements, minutes of meetings and the Umpire Groups’ documents and so, even though we may have not met all of the people that have been a part of Mum’s life, we knew them by name, those that were good friends, those that were kind and helpful and sometimes those who posed a few concerns. Mum loved the bowling club and the organisational aspects of it. She reserved her true friendship for only a few, though now passed ahead of her. Madge Burns, Madelaine Savage, Phyllis Cumsen, Marjorie Heddles, Jenny Murrell, Shirley Walker, Jeanette Koina and Doreen Stonestreet.

It doesn’t seem right to spend so little time talking about her time at the bowling club as it was such a huge part of her life. She and Dad were good bowlers and won titles in Singles Championships and Pairs and Triples with other bowlers and as a pair themselves.

Beside bowling, Mum kept herself busy with craft work, sewing, embroidery, making copper plaques, jewellery and leather goods. There was always something to be learnt and mastered. There was always a sewing machine on the dining table and sewing pins on the lounge room floor. Her framed cross stitched creations adorn the walls of all of our houses and are showcased in a book here today. The latest creations were crocheted rugs in elegant colours and lastly, what she called her crazy rugs in all the colours she had left in the sunroom.

When Dad died in September 2000 Mum lost the love of her life. Her beloved sister and many friends have followed and I know Mum was lonely in the last years despite Amanda and my many visits, Virginia and Jacaleen and some wonderful neighbours. Grandchildren and great grandchildren kept her mind occupied with their comings and goings. She kept herself busy with her thoughts, time, and money being spent on her children. She liked continually organizing everyone around her. She loved and enjoyed being with her children and grandchildren. Her great grandchildren have kept her delighted, amused and amazed.

Mum was a very energetic, intelligent woman and was confident in her knowledge and in the wisdom of her decisions. I was in my early thirties before I realised that it was possible for her to be wrong, (she has never admitted that) but in more recent years her grandchildren have joked with her about her always having to be right.

Mum was in her eighties before I was brave enough to tell her than I thought I could work out for myself, where to buy the bread she had requested and where to turn right or left to get where I was going. She would get the giggles when she realised that she was still telling us what to do and how to do it, as she had been doing for the whole of our lives.

She had an enquiring mind and never lost her thirst for knowledge and to know about anything new, medical or technical, local or international -everything. She even tried to imagine why people made the choices they had, just to understand the world around her. She was proud of her intelligence, her memory, her organizations skills.

During her late eighties, she took on the technical world and used an iPad to read library books, The Herald, and to keep up with what was going on with Facebook, where she commented on every post anyone made. She also found Pintrest and pinned many many kittens and funny cat pictures. I tried to widen her horizon and pinned some frogs and elephants. She said “how did that get there, I only pin cats”.

Covid lockdown certainly took it’s toll. I kept myself isolated so I could visit and she never left her property. Not being able to see how bare the streets and shopping centres were, she didn’t grasp that the whole world was in lockdown, not just her. While she was able we went for a few drives and watched the scenes from around the world.

The last four years have been more difficult with memory loss, eyesight going and weakened body. Her determination and stubbornness never weakened. When we asked her to stop walking on the grass because she kept falling over (and neighbours came and picked her up and rang us, many many times) she kept “sneaking out” as she called it. I would drive around the corner into the lane and she would look sheepish and say “you caught me”. When we insisted she use her walker in the house because she was so weak on her legs and was falling, she didn’t do it. She lived the way she wanted to live and with her “independence” as she called it, she managed to stay in the house “she” and Dad built until her death. During the night, peacefully, in bed, with her cat beside her.

When she was very young, Mum read the Pollyanna books and took from them the “glad game”.

It was automatic for Mum to turn a problem into a “glad” statement. “I’m glad it is raining because the farmers need it.” “I’m glad we came this way, I have never seen those building before.” “I’m glad Dad left those explosive canisters under the house, I’ve never had the bomb squad at the house before.”

Well I’m glad now that Mum will finally be with Dad.
She has been waiting a long time to see him again.
And to reunite with her sister and parents.
She knows they will all be waiting for her.
How else will they know how to organize things in heaven.

We will miss you Mum but we know you are at peace and happy with Dad.

Barry & I were very privileged to have known June when we spent nearly a year living with our daughter, Rochelle, June’s neighbour.
We had many lovely conversations and laughs as June loved life and it showed,
I visited June earlier this year when out walking and she told me about her many falls. A couple of months later when I arrived to visit I was saddened to see an ambulance was in attendance, obviously another fall.
June talked of Jack often, now they are reunited. ❤️