June Cook Rutherford

August 12, 1929-April 27, 2025

Mildred June Cook Rutherford, 95, widow of Earl Rutherford, passed away peacefully on April 27, 2025. She was born in Coalwood, WV, the daughter of the late Wiley Clay Cook and Carrie Austin Cook.

She is survived by her loving daughters, Evangeline Rutherford Lear (Bill) and Ann Rutherford Calico (Paul); five grandchildren, Jennifer Lear Eversole, Carrie Lear Milner (Barrett), Robby Lear (Jessica), Austin Calico (Leslie), and Molly Calico Sergent (Jon); ten great-grandchildren, Taylor, Connor, and Caroline Eversole; Cole, Tucker, and Price Milner; Avalon, Etta, and Royse Calico; and Jack and Mattie Sergent; and her brother, Roy Lee Cook. She was preceded in death by her brother, William Clay Cook.

She graduated from Big Creek High School in War, WV, where she was a member of the Sub-Deb Club and the Etude Music Club. She was employed as a bookkeeper for Sears Roebuck in both Greensboro, NC and Atlanta, GA.

June and her beloved Earl enjoyed a 65-year love affair that took them from his engineering education at Georgia Tech, to Winston-Salem, NC, to Colorado Springs, CO, to Basking Ridge, NJ, and finally back to Greensboro, NC, as he rose through the ranks at Bell Laboratories, Western Electric, and AT&T. She especially loved their stints in Colorado where she undertook oil painting and ice skating, and New Jersey where she joined a group that took monthly jaunts to New York City to see Broadway plays. As a dedicated homemaker, June guided and nurtured their two daughters, instilling in them a love of the arts, an appreciation for their roots and their extended family, and all things “Emily Post.”

She was a member of several Presbyterian churches over the years, finding a church home wherever she was living, and served on committees and boards in each one. June was a member of the Round Table Study Club, Greensboro Symphony Guild, and a founding member of the Teen Study Club,

June loved family vacations to NC beaches, parties and dancing (especially dancing), accompanying Earl to Carolina Seniors Golf events, Caribbean cruises, and getting together with family to reminisce about days gone by.

The family would like to thank the staff at Lexington Country Place for the care they provided the past couple of months, and a special thank you to Elizabeth Hampton and Sophia Cusani for the compassionate care, love, and friendship they showed to June and her family throughout her life at Mayfair Village.

Memorial contributions may be made to the YMCA of Central Kentucky or to Baby Health Service. A celebration of life will be held at a future date.