June Champion

June Champion 1920 - 2016 Our mother June Ramm Champion died on Monday May 16th, 2016, surrounded by her family. She had fallen ill on Mother's Day and was taken home to Morro Bay on hospice shortly thereafter. June was born 95 years ago in Elgin, Illinois, and lived a life punctuated by world events and personal triumphs. She was not only an incredible mother, she was an artist, musician and creative who made every dress we wore when we were younger. She was also a pretty cool parent, driving us to our first Rolling Stones concert in 1964 in Long Beach, California. With the love of her life, husband Gordon, June was renowned for throwing parties with themes that ranged from aviation to Tikki to French. We remember spending two weeks making leis for the Hawaiian themed party. June used these parties to try out new, exotic recipes the day of the event, whipping up croquembouche, poi and rumaki ... a gag-inducing hors d'oeuvre from the 60's. We were in charge of putting that together too. Once they moved to Morro Bay, their friends regularly visited for the weekend as well as for their epic parties. Dad was a Navy pilot (Pacific Theatre) and he enjoyed flying his planes and mom was an enthusiastic copilot. They flew throughout the U.S., once flying their yellow bi-plane all the way to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for an aviation show. We recall the surprise that mom had when dad brought home a 700lb bi plane engine that he proceeded to hang from the ceiling to replace the existing ceiling fan. Dad explained that it was a birthday present for mom. Needless to say, the fan really moves air and still runs today. But dad wasn't done giving mom birthday gifts that every woman desires - one year he flew out to Bullhead City, picked up an old 25 cent Circus Circus slot machine and flew it back home in his new Bonanza airplane. Dad proudly set it up in the kitchen for all to play. Happy Birthday June! Our parents were active in the Restaurant & Motel Association in Morro Bay, as they were owners of The Keystone Motel on Main Street. June was an avid bridge player, belonging to several bridge groups in Cayucos and the Morro Bay Senior Center. She was also a member of a women's card group "The Gambling Goddesses," where lots of laughs were had and pennies were won and lost. And speaking of laughter ... June's laugh was as distinct and light as her personality. It was a song of a laugh that could be heard clear across a room, or property line, if the windows were open. Our mother was not only the life of any party; she held an incredible strength, which she used to endure the death of her husband and her son Bruce. She was the last member of her entire generation and had no remaining peers to share memories with. In spite of this, she continued to find joy and adventure with family and new friends. She loved her four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. June loved England and traveled countless times over the pond to soak in British culture. She enjoyed cruises to Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii, her most recent being this past January. She loved concerts and saw Tony Bennet, Neil Diamond and Paul McCartney live. She also loved the constant companionship of felines and was a cat lover till the end. At the age of 90 mom decided on her own to stop driving ... we think it was after she returned home one night with a stop sign attached to her front bumper. The police met her in the garage with the remaining piece of her car stating, "This must be yours." June wasn't upset about the stop sign, but was embarrassed that her age was published in the local paper under the police log section. 90 was also the age that June decided to go parasailing for the first time in Maui with her granddaughter. June Champion loved to laugh, loved gin & tonics and loved sitting on the deck to watch the sunset. We will miss her dearly, but she lived a long life filled with love, family, laughter and rummy tiles. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you please do something kind for someone. Buy a stranger groceries or a cup of coffee or donate to a charity in her name. Thank you for loving our mother as much as we did. Gail Champion-Campe and Karen Stewart. Sign her guestbook at sanluisobispo.com/obituaries