June McConnell

ELVA JUNE BUCHTEL MCCONNELL NOVEMBER 8, 1921 ~ MAY 13, 2013 June McConnell, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, died suddenly last Monday May 13, 2013 following surgery. She was born in Lamar, Colorado to Anna Dolan Buchtel and Elmer Buchtel and grew up on a ranch there with her brother and two sisters. She graduated from Lamar Union High School and the University of Denver with majors in Psychology, English literature, and Education while playing double-bass in a chamber music quartet and dance bands. It was there that she met her devoted and cherished husband, Taylor McConnell. They were married for almost 70 years. She taught fifth grade for the Denver Public School System for one year and then, following WWII, worked as a Pastor and Church Executive's wife and as a mother of two children, Judy and Larry. She also was the first Resident Director of Denver University's Phipps Conference Center. In 1967, she and Taylor moved to Evanston, Illinois, where she became Executive Secretary of the Evanston Council of Churches and then a fundraiser for Kendall College. She then team-taught courses with her husband at Garrett Seminary and became Co-Founder and Director of Culture Bridging in Northern New Mexico. The organization drew together Pueblo, Hispanic, and Anglo families and gave training in cross-cultural relationships to Seminary students from four denominations. Her volunteer work included various leadership and teaching positions for St. John's United Methodist Church. She was a long-time member of the Fifteen Club and took great joy in the scholarly research and friendship she found there and in other groups. She was a passionate student of life all of her life and became an expert in gardening, mineralogy and gemstones, weaving, antique china, and roses. Whether chairing a board meeting, teaching a class, talking to a friend, decorating a room for a celebration or playing with a child, she brought grace, creativity, warmth, and joy to everyone. She is survived by her husband Taylor, her children Judy and Dick, Larry and Mary, many nieces and nephews and her dearly loved granddaughter Anna. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 24 at St. John's United Methodist Church. Donations in her memory may be made to the St. John's United Methodist Church Foundation, 1200 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505.