June Mitchell Douglas-White

June was born to the late William and Bertha McNeill Mitchell on June 19, 1926 in Medford MA. June graduated from Colby-Sawyer College in 1945, and the Erskine School in 1947. She married the late Herbert T. (Doug) Douglas in 1950 and they lived in Hadlyme, CT and Old Westbury, NY before relocating to Chatham in 1970. June married the late John E. (Jack) White in 1990 following Doug’s death in 1987. She was predeceased by her sisters Janet Green and Priscilla Mitchell, both Cape Cod residents.

June was social secretary to Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney for over 25 years until her retirement in 1991. She sometimes joined Mrs. Whitney on her travels (including trips to Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid and Sarajevo), and she learned to speak Spanish so she could communicate with the staff at Mrs. Whitney’s home in Majorca, Spain. In the course of her work, June met celebrities, politicians, and foreign dignitaries.

June was passionate about community theater, especially on Cape Cod. She held leadership roles at the Chatham Drama Guild (CDG) and performed in shows at nearly all theater companies across the Cape. She also appeared in two movies filmed on the Cape. In addition to being on stage and in front of the camera, June worked behind the scenes directing and stage-managing plays, writing the CDG newsletter for many years, and running the box office. When she wasn’t directly involved in a production, June supported the shows as a member of the audience!

June also volunteered in retirement as a reader for the blind at the Chatham Council on Aging, and she delivered Meals-on-Wheels for over 25 years. She was a very caring and compassionate person, and she truly loved helping others. She had a wonderful network of kind, caring, and generous friends on the Cape and beyond.

June played bridge and was an avid reader and a prolific and skilled writer. Her interest in writing dated back to her college days where she was noted for her creative short stories and poems. She continued to write throughout her adult life and was a long-standing member of a writers group based in Chatham. She definitely had a way with words!

June is survived by her son Cameron Douglas and his wife Becki of PA; Jack’s daughter Jennifer Frei and her husband Bill of NC; Jack’s son Brad White and his wife Darlene of Chatham; seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her niece Carol Judson and her husband Eric of FL; niece Judy Longo of CO; cousin Jan Hively and her partner Tom Lacy of Yarmouth; and her cousin Phyllis Stimson of MI. June loved getting together with her family and always looked forward to attending and hosting McNeill reunions on the Cape.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Cape Cod Theatre Coalition, c/o HJT, PO Box 168, West Harwich, MA 02671.

A Celebration of June's life will be held at Nickerson Funeral Home, 87 Crowell Road, Chatham on Aug. 15, 2020 at 10 AM. The family invites you to join virtually through www.nickersonfunerals.com or in person by reservation only. Face masks and social distancing practices will be in place.