INTERMENT: Waubonsie Cemetery, South of Glenwood, Iowa.
June Shirley Campbell, “Happy Valley June”, age 84, passed away on Wednesday, October 8, 2008. June was residing at Providence Seaside Hospital Extended Care Unit in Seaside, Oregon where she was being treated for Parkinson’s disease.
June was born, in Osmond, Nebraska on June 5, 1924 to Kernal Lewis and Wanda Bomer. June spent most of her youth in the Glenwood, Iowa community with her three sister, Norma, Larue, and Amber.
June is known to many by her radio name “Happy Valley June”. Beginning at 16, June performed on KFNF’s Barn Dance and other popular radio programs. This began a lifelong love for performing music. Her last major performances celebrated the era of live radio. At 76, she played and was honored on the same stage where Mozart performed in Vienna, Austria.
On December 10, 1942 she was married to Gerald (Jerry) Campbell in Glenwood, Iowa. Jerry had originally written a fan letter to “Happy Valley June” to begin this relationship that spanned 56 years until Jerry’s death in 1998. Jerry also loved music and they became known as “Happy Valley June and Fiddle’n Jerry”. They were both inducted into the Old Time Music Hall of Fame. During WWII, June served at the Martin Bomber Plant in Bellevue, Nebraska while Jerry was a soldier in the U.S. Army. June will join Jerry at rest in the Waubonsie Cemetery South of Glenwood, Iowa on November 8th with her Celebration of Life at Waubonsie Church beginning at 11:00 a.m.
June moved to Seaside, Oregon in 2004 where she was a resident of Suzanne Elise Assisted Living due to support needs related to Parkinson’s disease. June was known to all for her contagious humor, incredible memory of sons and her zest for life.
June is survived by three sons and daughters-in-law: James and Janis of Canby, Oregon; Terry and Kim of Seaside, Oregon; and Thomas and Mary of Hendersonville, Tennessee. June instilled in her sons the concepts of honesty, independence and self-reliance. Her love for her sons was evident throughout her life. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the Waubonsie Church or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. http;//www.michaeljfox.org/
Visitation:Friday, October 10, 2008
8:00 AM
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Service:Saturday, November 8, 2008
11:00 AM
South of Glenwood
Glenwood, IA51534
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