JUNE ROSALEEN BRANN

JUNE ROSALEEN KOBECK BRANN
MISSION - Prominent Valley figure and former newspaper publisher and editor June Rosaleen Kobeck Brann, age 82, of Mission passed away Friday, August 14, 2009 at Mission Regional Medical Center.
A viewing will be held on Monday, August 17, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Ric Brown Family Funeral Home, 621 E. Griffin Parkway, Mission. The funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, August 18, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at the corner of 29th Street and Dove in McAllen. Graveside services follow at Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
Ms. Brann was born March 21, 1927 in Donna to Joseph Aloys and Ruth Evelyn Kobeck. She graduated from Weslaco High School in 1945 and attended Pan American College.
The greater part of her professional life was distinguished in newspaper, radio, and television. During her journalism career, Ms. Brann worked for the Mission Times, Weslaco News, Associated Press, and Houston Chronicle in the print media and KRIO and KURV radio and KRGV TV in the broadcast media. She was highly respected and recognized for her work in the media. She received numerous awards for writing, editing and photography.
Until her retirement, she was owner, publisher, and editor of the Progress Times and the Texas Agri-News, and editor and co-publisher of the Winter Texan Times. She retired in 2003 after an almost 50-year career in journalism.
Serving on numerous committees and boards, Mrs. Brann was a charter member of the county's first mental health organization in the 1960s. First appointed to the Mission Hospital Board in 1985, she served a total of 21 years in that capacity to see the hospital through to its fruition as Mission Regional Medical Center. She also served on the City of Mission Civil Service Commission, Economic Development Corporation, and Economic Development Authority and was a Mission Rotary Club member. In recognition of her lifetime of service, she was honored as First Lady of Mission in 2007 and inducted into the BorderFest Walk of Fame in 2006.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she taught Sunday school and was a youth leader for a number of years.
Although she had an extensive journalism career, she always felt her greatest legacy was her family, to which she whole-heartedly dedicated herself as a divorced mother of four. Her journalism career was the means to the end with her children's needs always at the forefront.
Survivors include her three sons, Tim (Betty) Brann of Mission, Joe (Teri) Brann of Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, and Ted (Anne) Brann of Boerne; a daughter, Mendi (Jim) Brunson of Mission; sister, Margaret (Dwight) Randolph of San Antonio; 19 surviving grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren.
Preceding her in death were her parents; a grandson, Alexander Joseph Brann; a brother, William Joseph Kobeck; and a sister, Anita Ruth Hensley.
Memorial contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the charity of one's choice; The Foundation at Mission Regional Medical Center, 900 S. Bryan Road, Mission, TX 78572; or to Humanitarian Services, 50 East North Temple Street, Floor 7, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-6890 (or, donate online at www.ldsphilanthropies.org).
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