June Velma Sears

June Velma (Todd) Sears, beloved and devoted wife, mother, grandmother passed away in Wenatchee, WA, on August 27, 2015. She relocated from Chewelah to Wenatchee to be closer to her sister and daughter. June had been a resident of Blossom Creek for nearly three years. June was born in Wenatchee, March 1, 1929 to Joseph and Zella (Stalder) Todd. Her early years were spent in the Wenatchee Valley area. Joseph Todd was an electrician, so the family moved to Electric City during the construction years of the Grand Coulee Dam. She graduated from Grand Coulee High School in 1947. She had fond memories of her high school days as head majorette, student government and class activities, being the Grand Coulee City Princess and of riding on the Grand Coulee float in the Apple Blossom Festival Parade. After graduating from high school June attended Eastern Washington College in Cheney, majoring in Home Economics. She was a Cheney City Princess in the Miss America: Miss Washington Pageant. After meeting Neal E. Sears from Coulee Dam at a dance, and falling in love, she and Neal were married on December 19, 1948, at the Congregational Community Church in Coulee Dam, WA. Having to leave the car they had borrowed for their honeymoon in a snowdrift along Highway 2 , they were able to catch a bus into the Davenport Hotel , where they had a reservation for their wedding night. Neal and June lived in Coulee Dam and Pullman for the next few years, as Neal completed his degree in 1952 at Washington State University. Neal's 40 year career with Alcoa took June and the children to Wenatchee, WA; Maryville, TN; Vancouver, WA, Washington; Concord, CA; Redwood City, CA and back to the northwest when Alcoa opened the North West Alloys plant in Addy, WA in 1975. Neal and June designed and built the home of their dreams in 1976, on twelve acres, along the Flowery Trail Road just east of Chewelah. This house remained their home for nearly forty years. Since retirement in 1992, Neal and June enjoyed spending their winter months on the island of Molokai, HI, where the family owned and operated the A'ahi Bed and Breakfast in Kaunakakai. In the late spring, summer and early fall months, many days were spent relaxing at their Lake home on North Twin Lake, at Rainbow Beach Resort, in Inchelium, WA. No matter where the family lived, June loved creating lovely environments inside and outside. Gardening was one of her greatest passions. She had an 'Ever Green Thumb", whether planting beautiful floral gardens and landscaping, lush house plants, productive vegetable gardens, fruit bushes and trees, or creating lovely, permanent floral arrangements She could identify and knew the common, as well as, the scientific names of almost every plant. June was and excellent seamstress. You could find her most every day downstairs in her sewing room creating something for someone. She made clothing for the family, made drapes, upholstered furniture, macraméd plant holders and hanging tables, made beaded ornaments, hooked rugs, crocheted and embroidered. Her creative talents also were demonstrated in her resin accessories, cake decorating, and painting. She planned, prepared and hosted large corporate dinner parties, as well as, immediate and more extensive family celebrations and get-togethers with perfection. June greeted each day, with a full agenda. Nearly every waking moment was filled with productivity and purpose. She was known to repeat and live by a few quotes "Waste not, want not", "A penny saved is a penny earned", "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." During her life, she was able to make time in her busy day of raising four children and helping with her four grandchildren, to seasonally preserve a storage room full of fruits and vegetables, to volunteer at each of her church guilds wherever they were living, to volunteer with St Joseph's Hospital Auxiliary in Chewelah for 35 years, to volunteer at the Chewelah Museum, to actively participate in the Chewelah's Women's Club, and to play bridge with a community group. June will be dearly missed by her children Catherine Smith, CA, Sheri Sears, Electric City, WA, and Steven Sears, CA.; her sister, Louise Brown, Wenatchee; grandchildren Julie, Scott, Dylan and Kim; eight grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. She was married for 62 years when her husband Neal passed away, March 2011. Also preceding her in death were her parents, son Kurt, and brother, Beverly Joseph Todd. Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2015, 10:00 am, at Danekas Funeral Chapel, 402 E. Main Avenue, Chewelah, WA, with the burial to follow at the Chewelah Pioneer Cemetery on the Flowery Trail Road. Arrangements are assisted by Heritage Memorial Chapel, East Wenatchee and Danekas Funeral Chapel, Chewelah, WA. You are invited to view June's online memorial site at www.HeritageMemorialChapel.com and www.danekasfuneralchapel.com

June Velma Sears

March 1, 1929 - August 27, 2015