June F. Arthur

In Loving Memory of June Frances Arthur

June Arthur, 94, of Winter Park, Florida died peacefully on February 28th at Advent Health Hospice in Orlando, Florida.

She was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the daughter of the late Joseph & Marie (Baker/Beauregard) Scully. She grew up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York before moving to New Haven, Connecticut. She graduated from Commercial High School in 1949 and married her high school sweetheart. They were married for over 40 years, and after parting ways, remained dear friends until his passing in 2017.

June worked as a secretary, a file clerk, a typist, and a photo finisher prior to the late 1960's. After relocating to Florida in 1979, she found her passion in the educational system working as a teacher's aide, and later, a substitute teacher. She found great joy in teaching children how to read. She retired from the Orange County School System in 1998 with nearly 18 years of loyal service.

A highlight of June's educational career was working with visually impaired children through Project IVEY at Princeton Elementary School in Orlando. Developed in 1983, the specialized program was designed to help students with visual impairments maximize their functional vision, leading to enhanced visual efficiency for educational and daily tasks. She is credited in the acknowledgements in the project's 468-page resource manual as a Project Aide/Assistant Writer.

She was named Employee of the Year for Brookshire Elementary in Winter Park in the 1996-1997 school year and was cited in her nomination for her dedication to teaching children to read. She was commended for working on her own time to become a self-taught expert with the Reading Mastery program, where she empowered a student who struggled to identify the letters of the alphabet to progress to a second grade reading level within a year. It was said that her tireless help and loving encouragement made all the difference for that student to succeed.

"Miss June," as she liked to be called later in life, was known for making fast friends wherever she went. In her years of working in the classroom, she was often spotted wearing her trademark vests with an angel pin on her shoulder. She became close friends with a group of coworkers who affectionately named themselves "the Mags" after going to see the Steel Magnolias movie together. After all these years, they still routinely get together to celebrate birthdays and support each other through challenging times.

June also spent many years volunteering in her community. Beginning in Connecticut where she relieved the teachers by supervising students during lunchtime at St. Rose Elementary and later serving as an ADDition volunteer for a kindergarten classroom at Princeton Elementary in Orlando. She volunteered with the Leukemia Society in Connecticut for six years, canvassing for donations, and she was certified as a pre-school vision screener by the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness, where she volunteered for two years. She also spent time volunteering with St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park to provide visits to those in nursing homes, and later, volunteered with the Prayer Line Ministry.

She loved to laugh and make others laugh, and she could be quite mischievous when she wanted to be. She believed her purpose in life was to bring joy to others, and she truly fulfilled her mission. She was an avid reader and a lifelong learner. She earned a 4.0 average for the courses that she took in Early Childhood Education at Valencia Community College. Prior to having a stroke in the spring of 2025, she was learning Spanish via Duo Lingo. She started when she turned 90 and didn't miss a day for four years.

June adored her family. She loved trees, butterflies, the color lavender, and looking at white puffy clouds against a clear blue sky. She was a collector of Thomas Kinkade artwork, and Christopher Radko Christmas Ornaments. Jane Austen became a favorite author during the pandemic. She loved Monet and impressionist art and personally enjoyed coloring as a creative outlet. And if she caught your ear, she'd be sure to brag about her favorite Pizza place in Orlando, Del Dios. No one else stood a chance against John's delicious pizza.

She loved music, and being proud of her Irish heritage, Celtic Thunder and Emmet Cahill were some of her favorite musical artists. But we certainly can't leave out John Denver, whose music she'd request whenever she attended live music events. When reminiscing, she often told stories of how exciting it was to see and hear Major Glenn Miller and his Army Air Force Band marching toward the New Haven Green. They were stationed at the Yale New Haven Campus during WWII for training, and they held concerts, played for war bond rallies, and marched to the Green for ceremonies.

June called Calvary Towers in Winter Park her home for 15 years, and not a day went by these past 10 months that she didn't deeply miss it. Manny, Elmer, Simona, Krystal and Naddy were like family to her, and she had so many wonderful friends there throughout the years. A highlight of her week was attending Senior's First lunches to enjoy Rodney's "Did You Know?" trivia and listen to him sing his soulful rendition of "Amen."

She overcame many obstacles in her lifetime, from dealing with food insecurity during the Great Depression, to being a single parent, to surviving breast cancer at age 83. She celebrated her 10-year survivorship in 2024. The past 10 months brought the biggest struggle of her life after she had a stroke on Memorial Day. While her deficits weren't readily apparent to most, she suffered greatly in private and with those closest to her during that time. In the end, she was still striving to make people smile and bring a touch of joy to their day, no matter how many difficulties she was facing. We all are blessed and better for having known her.

June is survived by her four children Susan (Rich) Parillo, Donna (Gene) Thompson, Linda St. John, and Kim Arthur, her five grandchildren Shawna Salato, Danielle Parillo, Kristine (Stephan) Hartmann, Robert Marino, and Michael Marino, her two great grandchildren Eleanor Hartmann and William Hartmann, her sisters Marie Buice and Joan Vegso, her in-laws, Robert and Patricia Arthur, and James & Laurie Arthur, many nieces and nephews, and a very long list of friends. She was preceded in death by her former spouse, Donald Arthur, her sisters Hilda Donahue, Gloria Scully, Virginia Scully, and her brother John Scully.

A Memorial Mass will be held in the Chapel at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park, Florida at 2:30pm on Friday, March 13. A Reception and Celebration of Life will be held in the Parish Hall from 4pm-7pm on that same day.

Funeral and interment will take place at a later date at St. George Church & Cemetery in Guilford, Connecticut.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in June's memory to the Advent Health In-Patient Hospice Unit or to Seniors First. Online Donations may be made at the following URLs:

Hospice: https://give.adventhealth.com/give/563037/#!/donation/checkout

Seniors First: https://www.seniorsfirstinc.org/donate/