June Elizabeth IVES

1929 - 2020

June Elizabeth Ives passed away peacefully at the Woods Park Care Centre in Barrie ON after a decade long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. June was the beloved wife of Garruth, a partnership that began when they were high school students in Pembroke ON. In July 2020 they would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. June was a devoted mother to three daughters, Leigh, Jan and Andrea and adored Grannie of Rob, Lauren, Amanda, Stephanie (Wayne Hylarides) and Alex and Great-Grandmother to Haidan, Kade, Stella and Ruby Hylarides. She is survived by her brother Glenn Biederman (Peggy Biederman), her husband Garruth Ives, and her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. June was born in Detroit MI in 1929 but soon after her family moved to Montreal PQ, where she attended private school. Later the family settled in Pembroke ON where June graduated from Pembroke Collegiate Institute. After earning her teaching credentials at Toronto Normal School June taught elementary school in Toronto ON while Garruth finished his teaching degree at the University of Toronto. Garruth and June then started a family in Alexandria ON and then moved to Peterborough ON where they built a unique home overlooking the city. June taught kindergarten at Prince of Wales and Central Public Schools and retired as teacher-librarian at Ridpath Public School in Lakefield ON. A devoted and loving mother to her girls, June sewed most of their clothes and drove them to figure skating lessons, piano lessons, track and field clubs, and Brownie and Girl Guide meetings. She ardently cheered them on as they competed in an array of sports. June and Garruth supported their daughters' university studies and were proud of their girls becoming teachers as well. Not only was June a talented cook and seamstress and a voracious reader, she played golf, curling, bridge and figure skated with her family. Her rock gardens were a source of gratification and pride as well. June and Garruth enjoyed travelling the world, first chaperoning school groups, then visiting and travelling with their daughters when they worked overseas. June was a genuinely kind, thoughtful and generous woman and will be deeply missed by her family and friends. Her unconditional love lives on in her husband, her girls and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A celebration of June's life is being planned for July, 2020.