June Delores Bonkosky

June Delores Bonkosky, 89, passed away peacefully surrounded by family members on October 17, 2025. Born June 19,1936 in Superior, Wisconsin to Vern William Wolden and Irene Theresa Fair. She was the second oldest of 13 children and from an early age, she learned the value of hard work, helping her father and mother while living off what the family grew on the farm.
June grew up on various farms in her early years. She loved hard work. She loved cows, especially Holsteins! She would milk cows by hand before going to school. One time she had to milk 27 cows by herself, which took a total of two hours.
June's favorite music was country western from the 1940's to 1950's. Her favorite singers were Hank Williams, Sr., Johnny Cash, and Elvis. She saw Elvis in person in 1956 and 1957 in Newport News, Virginia.
She graduated from Northwestern High School in Maple, Wisconsin on May 26, 1954. She then attended Superior Vocational School and studied to be a Licensed Practical Nurse, graduating in November 1955.
June married her first husband, Curtis Apple, on March 10, 1956, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. They had one daughter, Kelly. They divorced in May 1959.
June, daughter Kelly, and brother Frank moved to Oregon in 1959. Jane, June and Frank's sister, was already living in Bend and married to Ernest Bonkosky. June met Edwin (Ed) Bonkosky at a family gathering and they married on October 24, 1959, in Reno, Nevada.
June and Ed raised six children: Kelly McIntyre (Mike, Surprise, Arizona), Heidi Bonkosky (Provo, Utah), Polly Ontiveros (Ben, Kingman, Arizona), Dolly Heap (David, Surprise, Arizona), Sara Thompson (Frank, Wadley, Alabama), and Alex Bonkosky (Sophia, San Francisco, California). They were blessed with 12 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
June started working at St. Charles Hospital in August 1959 and retired from St. Charles Medical Center in1983. She worked as one of the first ICU LPN's, in the Emergency Room, CCU, and as a surgical float. She was talked into going back to work in November 1989 as a gopher/transporter nurse for the Operating Room.
In April 1985, she ran Sun Mountain Water company. June stated that that began a five-year period of learning about a water system and how it operated. Her brother, Zeke, was her right-hand man, among others who helped her in many ways.
June was an avid bowler. She held many positions in her local bowling association and at the team level. She bowled in local, state, and national women's bowling tournaments. She was left-handed and her high averages, in the late 1980's, were over 185.
June was legally blind from a motor vehicle accident on February 27, 1991. She spent nine weeks in the hospital and went home on May 1st. Being a strong, healthy person her injuries did not slow her down for long. Her eyesight was a problem, but she soon adapted and by fall 1992, she was doing all her own housework, shopping, cooking, etc. She lived by her favorite saying, "If you think you can or can't, you are right!"
June was deeply committed to her faith. She was acquainted with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints through her friend, Lieta Cole, in February 1962. She joined the LDS Church on May 26, 1962. She served in many capacities, to include ward librarian, Relief Society President, stake librarian, visiting teacher, and Young Women's counselor, but her favorite was Girl's Camp. She served at Girl's Camp as a leader, cook, and nurse for 19 years.
June was preceded in death by her parents and 6 siblings. Frank Wolden, Marian Banks, Linda Carlson, Charles Wolden, Lois Jarvinen, and Ralph (Tony) Wolden. She is survived by 6 siblings. Jane Bishop, Frances Levings, Alice Miller, John Wolden, Walter (Zeke) Wolden, and James Wolden.
Services are being held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, High Desert meetinghouse, 60800 Tekampe Road, Bend, Oregon on October 28, 2025.
Viewing is at 10:00 a.m., Funeral is at 11:00 a.m., and Luncheon is at 12:00 p.m. Internment is at 1:00 p.m. at Deschutes Memorial Gardens.
For those who are unable to attend in person, you may watch online via the Zoom link below:
https://zoom.us/j/94409828967?pwd=4J0guKajeH9Yrka3O70Glj5XJt065L.1
Meeting ID: 944 0982 8967
Passcode: 12231805