June Mcgrew

Family will be present from noon until 2:00 p.m.. Visitation Noon until 2:00 during which time a 1:00 Funeral Service conducted by Pastor Jan Kolar of the Raccoon River Bible Camp, burial in the Jefferson Cemetery. June H. McGrew, a lifetime resident of Greene County, passed away at the Greene County Medical Center on March 31, 2016, at the age of 104. Named for the month of her birth, she was born on June 30, 1911. June enjoyed a long marriage to Maurice McGrew. They had no children, but after Maurice's death, June shared her home with her sister, Wilma Hanson, and was a devoted caretaker in Wilma's last years of life. June loved the natural world, and nurtured many homeless cats and other animals at her acreage north of Ralston. While she relished the privacy and rural beauty of her home, June always welcomed visitors and stayed in touch with her family. As one of her nieces fondly recalls, June wrote beautiful letters, often telling a story, enclosing an old photograph, or inserting a poem. A nephew describes her intelligence, strong will and soft heart. June grew up in difficult circumstances, as did many of her generation. In her later years, she shared stories about the Hanson family, including insights about her brothers, Judge William Hanson of Jefferson and Donald Hanson, a Churdan business owner. June was also tough, independent, and a real character. She had a lively sense of humor that she retained until the end, commenting on the state of the world or the challenges of aging with wry observations that kept her visitors chuckling. June was preceded in death by her parents, husband, five siblings, and a beloved niece. In addition to the companionship of her sister, Wilma Hanson, June had two older sisters who died during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Deceased brothers are William C. Hanson and Donald J. Hanson. Her niece, Candace Burnell of Des Moines, passed away last year. June is survived by eight nieces and nephews and their spouses in Iowa, California and Arizona. They are James Hanson (Jefferson), Thomas Hanson (Des Moines), Jay and Mary Hanson (La Jolla), Don and Cindy (Hanson) Rushing of La Jolla, Elaine Hanson and Bruce Robbins (San Diego), Robert and Ann Hanson (West Des Moines), Lee and Patrice Hanson (Muscatine), and niece Deborah (Jerry) Cave of Gilbert, Arizona. Pastor Jan Kolar, director of Raccoon River Bible Camp, helped June with daily tasks for several years, allowing her to remain in her own home prior to her move to the Greene County Long Term Care facility in 2012. In celebration of June McGrew's life, Pastor Kolar will conduct services during a visitation scheduled at noon on Thursday, April 7, 2016 at the Hastings Funeral Home in Jefferson, followed by burial at the Jefferson Municipal Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to the Raccoon River Bible Camp at 875 B Avenue, Scranton, IA 51462, or to PAWS (People for Animal Welfare Society), P.O. Box 135, Jefferson, IA 50129