June Kyna Cheek Simpson

June’s parents lived in Newport News, Virginia during WW II, but after the war years, they moved to Raleigh, where most of her mother’s relatives lived and where her father found a job in the U.S. Postal Service. June Kyna Cheek was born July 24, 1955 in Raleigh, North Carolina at the old Rex Hospital on 700 Wade Avenue. Her father was Thomas “Everett” Cheek (10/17/1912--08/05/2007) a Quaker (Society of Friends) from Moore County. (“I was raised poor and sweet.”). He worked his entire career with the Post Office eventually becoming Supervisor of Mail Carriers in Raleigh. June's mother was Gladys Beverly Smith (4/22/1920--10/01/2016) whose family lived in Raleigh. She was a beautiful person although she was partially deaf.

The family were members of the First Congregational Church of Raleigh. Each Sunday after church they all went to their Aunt Bertha's house, where Bertha cooked Sunday dinner. Afterwards all the family, including aunts & uncles who gathered, would sit on the large front porch, while the young ones enjoyed the big porch swing.

June’s family home was a big white house at 201 Harrison Avenue in Raleigh; it was built by William Ellington, Aunt Bertha’s father, who owned a saw & finishing mill in Raleigh. The city renamed the street & address 864 Morgan Street. It’s now known as the Ellington House.

June had no sisters but two brothers: Gary (now deceased) and David, former 2-term mayor of Irvington, Virginia, where he makes his home with his wife, Anne.

June went to Fred A. Olds Elementary school and then on to Leroy Martin Junior High School. After graduating from Broughton High School in 1971, she went to Louisburg College, a two-year community college in the nearby Louisburg, North Carolina. After graduation she took an office job in a local Wachovia bank – until family duty called -- her mother needed her. So, June moved back home to help out. The mother-daughter pair morphed into a best-friends relationship.

The whole family sometimes worked together in their “victory garden” located in North Raleigh. Dad and David tilled the soil and David would hoe the weeds. June would pick vegetables and help harvest the fruit of their labor.

But June tired easily – she was born with a weak constitution and her health grew steadily worse. She was at first diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. But after a long period of time and many tests the doctors at last diagnosed her with scleroderma, a rare condition worse than lupus. It put her on a constant roller coaster of bad health/good health.

Her father died in 2007. A few years later her mother’s health declined—and she found herself moving into Morningside of Raleigh, an assisted living facility on Dixie Trail in Raleigh. Faithful as she was, June moved into a small apartment nearby and helped her mom the best she could until she died in October of 2016.

June’s health was also weakening and she soon found herself moving into Independence Village of Olde Raleigh, where she met a better life, a healthier life –– and a husband!

It was a first wedding for June; the third for Patrick Simpson – whose first two wives had passed away. But it was love at first sight for both. He’ll never forget this “angel with a broken wing”.

June is survived by her husband Patrick, her brother David, and cousins Sharon, Michael and two others.

A visitation for June will be held Wednesday, April 3, 2024 from 10:00am to 11:00am at First Baptist Church of Raleigh, 99 N Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27603. The funeral will begin at 11:00am. Burial will follow Oakwood Cemetery, 701 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601.

Services provided by Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh.