June S Eaton

June Elizabeth Soyring Eaton June was born to Nestor and Lempi Soyring June 19, 1927 in South Range, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. June was proud to be a “Yooper” (a native or inhabitant of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). She was extremely close to older sister Eleanor and younger sister Dorothy throughout their lives and across the miles. Her family was brought up in the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church and immersed in Finnish culture and language. All of her great grandparents and grandparents were born in Finland. Later in life she visited Finland, and attended many FinnFests around the US. After Christmas and Easter, her favorite holiday was St. Urho’s Day, March 16th. June was known for her purple cake and juice, and gleefully repeating “Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen." Most of June’s childhood was spent in Suo where her grandparents homesteaded. She had many fond memories of country life with her large extended family, including cold winters and hot saunas. June graduated from Houghton High School in 1945, the valedictorian of her class. She worked as a secretary for five years before her marriage to Tim Eaton. June and Tim met at a basketball game at Michigan Tech. Their first double date lasted three days due to being snowbound in -40 degree weather. They were married on September 22, 1951 and made their first home in Alexandria, VA in a trailer. Both June and Tim worked for the CIA in Washington DC before an overseas assignment to Formosa (now Taiwan) in 1953. Children Fred and Sharon were born overseas, and their third child Jonathan was born when they moved to Seattle and Tim began work at Boeing. They were married for 61 years! June worked as the church secretary at Peace Lutheran for nine years, starting in 1961 after Jon started kindergarten. Then she went to work with the State of Washington Employment Security Department/Office of Administrative Hearings until retirement. June was active for many years in the Rebecca Circle and choir at Peace. She loved World Cavalcade, 5th Avenue Theater shows, dining all over Seattle, and family celebrations. She was known for her lemon squares and Finnish pasties, picnics at Lake Kayak and delicious birthday cakes. Although June’s first flight on a plane was to Formosa, over the years June and Tim became avid world travelers. Finland and the Holy Land were two of their favorite destinations. They also made many cross country trips back to Michigan, Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. A local favorite destination was their property at Lake Kayak near Duvall. The Eatons were known for their hospitality and were fine Seattle tour guides innumerable times. The Eatons had a “dorm” room in the basement for the grandsons. June passed away in hospice care at Florence of Seattle February 27, 2017. She was preceded in death by son Jonathan and husband Tim. June is survived by her daughter Sharon Eaton (Seattle), son Fred and daughter-in-law Kris Field-Eaton (Tigard, OR) , and beloved grandsons Cameron Field-Eaton (Ontario, CA), Sean Field-Eaton (Waipahu, HI), Colin Field-Eaton and wife Sarah Cardillo (La Jolla, CA) and many much loved friends and relatives. Hyvää matkaa! “Farewell, good journey!” Remembrances may be made to Peace Lutheran Church where June and Tim were members since 1961.