June Woodcock Carter

1922 - 2022

June Woodcock Carter

June 17, 1922 - June 9, 2022

Gatherings, whether weekend or school week, were always at June's house. Through junior high, high school and college years, her three sons' friends gravitated there, felt accepted there, and came to know her as a second mom. Many of these men, grandfathers now, have reached out to the family to extend condolences, and to express the fond regard with which they hold these memories. One of June's great gifts, and a lasting legacy, was her ability to create family through love and acceptance for all people. She lived her life thankful for her blessings, and believing that giving back is the greatest privilege.

June was born to Roland and Blanche Page Shugg on June 17, 1922, in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. She was a person who valued humility, and rarely talked about her earliest years on the East Coast, where the Page grandparents brought them into Manhattan to shop for holiday outfits every Easter, and to their summer home on Long Island for vacations. Summers were also spent off the coast of Maine-she spoke fondly of Maine, and the delicious Maine lobster, all her life. She and her three younger sisters, Blanche, Frances and Patricia, grew up on U.S. Army bases on the East Coast and in the South, where their father, a West Point graduate, was stationed-they were, she often said, army brats.

June graduated from Lawton High School. Lawton, Oklahoma, when the family was again at Ft. Sill. Her senior year, she was the top-ranked chemistry student in her graduating class, in an era when most women shied away from chemistry and science.

She attended four different colleges in four years during World War II. Her junior year was spent at The George Washington University in Washington D.C., where she and then President Truman's daughter Margaret were classmates, sometimes seated next to each other in class. She joined the Chi Omega sorority, and served it passionately as an alumni advisor until the final years of her life. Her lifelong relationships with her Chi O' sisters were one of the greatest joys of her life.

When her father was posted to Camp Adair in the early days of WW II, the family moved to Corvallis. June graduated from OSC, now OSU, in education, and did her student teaching in Albany. The Shugg home was near the family home of William Woodcock. They met, were married and had three sons, William Jr., Roland and Richard.

June became a young widow when William Sr. died suddenly in 1959. Her focus and commitment then became raising her three sons as a single mom, through junior high, high school, and college. During this time she worked at the office of Truax Oil, Inc., continuing her employment there for over 20 years. She was a regular customer at Viola's Beauty Shop where her genuine interest in everyone's lives was evident to all who went there.

When she was finally an empty-nester, with almost half her life still in front of her, June met and married Ralph Carter. They spent many happy years enjoying community and family, which now included the Carters, Joe and Alice, the next generation of grandkids, and eventually great-grandkids. For all of them, she was a loving and devoted grandma. When Ralph retired from teaching, they traveled widely, internationally and often.

June spent her last years at Timberhill Place Assisted Living in Corvallis. She made many new friends among the other residents and the wonderful staff. She continued her correspondence with friends across the country, her involvement with Chi Omega, and her active and lifelong involvement with the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan in Corvallis. What she dearly missed was baking for family and friends, and hosting holiday meals.

June passed peacefully and painlessly, with family by her side, on June 9, 2022, eight days shy of her hundredth birthday. Odds are her last earthly words were Thank You. She is survived by her younger sister Frances, her three sons William Jr., Roland, and Richard, and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

There will be a celebration of life. If you would like to be advised as plans become certain please email rolandblues@gmail.com