June (Rother) Meints died at home Tuesday, Feb. 21. She was 89 years old and a lifelong resident of Michigan.
June was born in Kalamazoo, grew up in Comstock and Vicksburg, and later moved with her parents, Rudy and Nina Rother, to Gun Lake near Shelbyville. June had two older sisters, Gloria (Alson Pierce) and Joyce (Robert Prough).
While growing up in Comstock, June became aware of a young man, Louis Meints. Louie played softball in the park across the street from the café that June worked in on River Street in Comstock. They would later marry and move into the house that Louie built at the top of the hill on River Street in Comstock.
June and Louie had five children: Kyle (Jill) Meints of Augusta, Penny (Brenda Embury) Meints of Lansing, Judy (Robert) Bigney of Sparta, Jani Meints of Mattawan, and Tobin (Charity) Meints of Ellijay, GA.
June began working for the Upjohn Company on the production line in Building #41 in Portage as a young adult. She left employment when their first child came along but returned to Upjohn later as part of the housekeeping staff. June took a position at Brook Lodge in Augusta, the former Upjohn estate and retreat center. She began in housekeeping and hospitality but later transitioned into floral arrangements and managing the greenhouse, which then blossomed into organizing and designing displays for special events.
June is lsurvived by her children and her grandchildren Kelsey and Erika, Nick and Tim, Devin and Braydin, Alexa, Johna and Kingsley, and Morgan, Ashley, and Austin. She also has six great-grandchildren, as well as many dear nieces, nephews, and friends.
Mom, Grandma, Aunt June would have turned 90 in June this year and a celebration of her life and family reunion to be announced later.
