June Rose Brubaker

JUNE ROSE (LUCAS) BRUBAKER, also affectionately known as JuniMoon and MoonBeam, left this world to be with her Lord on March 20, 2020. She slipped away peacefully a week after being diagnosed with a serious liver infection. A much-loved wife, mom, grandmother, aunt, mother-in-law, and friend, JuniMoon was born to John and Laura Lucas on June 3, 1934, in a house with no electricity, bathroom or running water, in the small village of Chevington, near Bury Saint Edmunds, England. With a bicycle as her only mode of transportation, she didn’t venture far from home ... until she met the love of her life, Joseph (Joe) Eugene Brubaker, when he was stationed at nearby Sudbury Ammo Depot, not far from Chevington. When the Air Force reassigned Joe to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, it was few a months before June and their baby daughter Lynda could join him. When the time finally came, they got on a train bound for Southampton, in the south of England, where they boarded a Cunard passenger ship, the RMS Samaria, and travelled 10 days across the Atlantic to New York's Ellis Island. After they and hundreds of other immigrants were documented for entry into the United States, June and Lynda were met by Joe’s brother Pat and his wife, Lennie, who welcomed them to America and helped them get to Grand Central Station. There, they boarded a train that took several days to get to Idaho, where they were finally reunited with Joe. Just thinking about 19 year-old June, who had never been farther than her bicycle could take her, making that arduous journey with a baby in her arms, is a reminder of what a strong, courageous, and determined woman June was. Shortly after they arrived in Idaho, the Air Force sent Joe, June and Lynda to Hamilton Air Force Base in Petaluma, California, where their second daughter, Sharon, was born. After only a year there, they were reassigned to Yuma Air Force Station, Arizona, where their third daughter, Christine, was born. Over the next 25 years, Joe, June, the three girls, their two poodles and a parakeet would make many more moves, both stateside and overseas, as is the life of a military family. Most of their assignments were to England and Germany, which made June happy; because she could see her family in England more easily. June was an exemplary military wife, who ran the household solo when Joe was sent to Viet Nam for a year, Thailand for a year, and to numerous temporary duty assignments at other locations. June was passionate about traveling; and she visited many wonderful places in countries around the world. Her last big trip was back to her hometown in England in 2016, where she was able to reunite with most of her family. A devout Catholic and deeply spiritual woman, June was always involved in volunteer activities with the church and the Red Cross. She had an awesome sense of humor; and even after dementia robbed her of many of her cognitive abilities, she kept her wit and her wonderful, infectious laugh. June was preceded in death by her parents, John and Laura Lucas, her brothers Ron Lucas (Jane) and Neville Lucas (Ellie/Pam), her sister Doris Hobson (Bill), her loving husband of 57 years, Joseph Brubaker, her grandson, Justin Clark, and her grandson Joe's wife, Heather Ballista. She is survived by her three daughters, Lynda (BR), Sharon (Scott) and Christine (Gary); grandchildren Joseph (Heather), Shawn, Natalie (Sascha) and Robert (Lucy); great-grandchildren Lizzie, Austin, Arwen, Dylan, Owen and Milo; and numerous nieces and nephews throughout the United Kingdom and America. June will be greatly missed by the endless number of people who knew and loved her, but she leaves behind countless extraordinary memories. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to any Alzheimer's research organization of your choosing. Services for June will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/holyapostles.church/live_videos/