June Dill

June (Segraves) Dill, 84, passed away surrounded by her loving family on February 9, 2026 in Park City, Kansas. A lifelong native to the state, she was born on June 7, 1941 in Corbin, Kansas, to James Andrew and Mabel (Little) Segraves.

She graduated from Winfield School of Nursing and worked as a Registered Nurse at the Wichita Clinic, Wesley Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Wichita and Colorado Springs. She also worked for many years at Head Start and Early Head Start as a nurse. She had a long and happy life and is blessed to now be on the next great adventure with the Lord.

Mom (spoken from perspective of Kelly and Kim) was a member of the Kechi Methodist Church for many years donating food, time and energy as needed, assisting neighbors when in trouble, and fighting for people’s rights by marching on a local and national level. She engaged in city politics once going door to door fighting for a mayor elect as well as a cable company she felt was the better of the two trying to enter the area. She also was part of the massive Orange Army fan club in support of the Wichita Wings and was always assisting in donation drives. She lived her life with dedication and no regrets. She was bold, smart and strong, pragmatic in opinion and stood up to all that was wrong to her belief system. She was a cornerstone to this family and always had everyone's interests at heart. She was loving, kind and fair and offered tenderness and affection but also tough love if she felt we needed guidance, discipline and direction. She loved my Dad, my sister and I and her two grandkids unconditionally, always having our backs and that is all you can ask of a spouse, parent and grandparent. She will be dearly missed.

Mom’s sports interests included playing soccer and softball but, it should be pointed out, that she did have an intense dislike for football, which she considered the same as watching paint dry. She was instrumental in starting a local CO-ED just for fun softball game night at the Church field for several years in the Summer. She also enjoyed playing soccer on a team called the Swarm which often swallowed teams in-whole and won multiple championships. She typically played midfielder, contributing both to offense and defense. I knew she was tough because she once took out a Rugby player in a parent’s exhibition game of soccer. She was also an avid fan of Indoor soccer and purchased season tickets for us for about 4 years to the Wings games.

Mom’s other interests at home included sewing, reading, and birdwatching with a real passion for gardening. She loved almost all species of birds with the exception of Starlings and Blue Jays who she found to be invasive and mean spirited at times. She was always excited to see a Redbird or Oriole or any new bird visiting her coveted back yard and nesting in and feeding off the beautiful honeysuckle that she had for so many years on the western fence. One summer day, after visiting her mom in Corbin KS, she hiked down to the nearby Chikaskia river and with the help of Dad pulled 2 young Catalpa trees from the banks. These would become beautiful cornerstones to a sea of greenery complimented by a pond, multiple trees, shrubs and flowers that was truly visionary and could be seen from mom’s bay windows in the kitchen. To the very end with her passing, she was always cultivating Pennies, Daisies, Geraniums, Rose bushes, Chrysanthemums, Tulips and her favorite Iris’s, always adding color and brilliance to her longtime home in Park City since 1971.

Mom had a sincere love for animals and on many occasions (per Dad and our own childhood experiences) would be trying to save them if they were injured and in crisis. Among the many were at least (1) crow, hawk, young possum and the careful raising of a turtle Dove who she affectionately named Tweet. She also hassled dad to drive back one day and try to find and assist an injured goose she had seen on the side of the road. She has saved countless cats over the years either directly (they show up at the door with a sad and hungry face) or indirectly (someone would call and say ‘June, this poor little cat’ and my mom’s heart would cave). In fact, it was her vet that called one day about a skinny stray cat in the shopping complex that asked if Mom would take it in. Ginger would become my childhood companion and live to be 20 years old thanks to the love and support of Mom who even helped nurse it back to health after a neighbor had shot it with a BB gun. Other honorary June Dill ‘Saved Society of Cats’ would include Swatsy, Playful, Boss, Mr. C, Callie, the 2 cats I currently have (Sally and Olive) as well as the 3 she leaves behind in passing, Kiki, Poogey and Skeezix. And not to be forgotten was the small black poodle named Trinket that she took in and cared for for so many years. All of us, especially Mom loved that dog and she cried uncontrollably after Trinket passed.

Mom loved music as well and it often centered around soft comforting and good feeling vibes. Dad said her favorite song was The Lion Sleeps Tonight and I remember her tuning in and watching Tony Orlando and Dawn (Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree) as well as listening to the countless 8 tracks of Elvis back in day in the car. I can still hear the melodic play and hum in my mind of Love Me Tender, Kentucky Rain, Don’t Cry Daddy and Suspicious Minds. Kim, too, remembers the time Mom requested her to put on some Barry Manilow songs.

Mom absolutely adored Christmas, and even more so, the decorations that came with the holiday. She never felt that she could have enough, and every year, we would be in awe of the lights strewn, the glitter and glistening of a house filled with Christmas cheer and the sounds of a talking moose and a singing Santa roping his way from one side of the living room to the other. She too, would always spend extra time at the Cracker Barrel gift store trying to find that special Holiday Sweater and any new light-up globe or attraction that made her warm at heart. She always claimed she was finished buying Christmas items up until she found that item that she just couldn’t pass up and the ‘rinse and repeat’ cycle would continue and we would all laugh and roll our eyes together. For 25 years plus, she hosted her side of the family’s Christmas at her house with the ceremonious Secret Santa with good and gag gifts abounding as well as making that infamously delicious Chili and Vegetable soup of hers that everyone flocked to. She loved every minute of it. She joyously weaved in and out of the packed house interacting with her ornery brothers and nephews who poked and jabbed each other and everyone else as well as the sister in laws who brought warmth, good food and conversation to the table. Though we could tease her about re-collecting bows from opened gifts for the benefit of recycling, she took it in stride and knew she was the smart and economical one as the following year we would be spending more money or asking her if she had a bow to spare. She seemed to pass her passionate trait of Christmas onto her kids as my sister’s house is immaculately and flawlessly laid out with the energy of 500 north pole elves and I, too, love to broker a newly themed tree both at work and at home every year.

Mom always had a sense of travel and adventure. Childhood family summer trips included Diamond Hunting in Murfreesboro AR, Carlsbad Caverns in SE New Mexico, Disneyland in Anaheim CA (twice), Washington D.C. and trips to Vail and Winter Park CO among others. Winter Park, in fact, is what brought the love of the state to me and caused me to move there years later. (Thanks Mom). As an adult, I was thankful to be a part of many more trips with the folks as the invites extended both ways. These later trips included Hawaii, Vermont, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, California, Minnesota, Florida, practically the entire state of Colorado and its resort towns and all 8 Rout 66 states with New Mexico and Oklahoma being true gems. Mom particularly enjoyed the covered bridges, rolling green hills and mountains of Vermont, Michigan's Mackinac Island, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville and the Smokey Mountain National Railway in NC and the Durango Silverton train ride in SW Colorado. Her top three places based on conversation were Telluride Colorado where she said she could ride the gondolas all day like a giddy kid; Kauai where the beauty and tranquility was just awe-inspiring to her, including the helicopter ride; and gorgeous Lake Tahoe and the drive around it and stop off hiking areas. One of my most memorable moments with mom and dad was the comradery, laughter and bonding that took place on the Amtrak train ride from Denver CO to Sparks NV (on our way to Tahoe). I will never forget it.

Grandma (spoken from the perspective of Reed and Ryan) dedicated a great portion of her life to us since birth. Simple weekly visits every Friday filled with board games, sports, walks around the neighborhood for garage sales or to visit the Park City Public Library, and plenty of pizza and movies, would eventually turn into full-fledged summers filled with fun and unforgettable moments. From adventures in the park to going to the pool or camping in the backyard under the starry Park City sky, Grandma's love for us could not be questioned. She would always go above and beyond those special moments, with yearly trips to Caldwell and playing in the river down there or watching Park City's annual 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. She would always make sure that we were entertained, whether it be through building an extra-large baking soda volcano, to performing a rain dance in the front yard (and it actually rained the next day!) or even going as far as the sky, having us flown around in a helicopter at Wichita's Riverfest.

But even among all those fantastical moments, Grandma never forgot to make the small things in life special as well. Life's simple joys such as watching me (Ryan) paint as a toddler to gardening and growing tomato plants with Reed, to pushing us both on the swing set in their backyard, to just sharing a good book or story. Truly, everything that she did as a grandmother was done out of love and commitment to giving us the best time with her. Grandma made life truly magical.

In closing, I would like to thank all the family, members of the church and friends that were able to visit and comfort mom at home in hospice and assist us as well. I would also like to send my appreciation to two of her closest friends, LaRilla and Rita, that out of loyalty and mutual respect made multiple trips to see mom, to share their love, compassion and long time memories, as well as to say their goodbyes.

It was mom's premonition before passing (to Kim) that she would be a spirited little girl with long, dark, flowing hair running free of pain through the meadows at her parents' farm. I, too, envision this young girl later boldly transitioning into emblazoned cowboy boots and a Roy Rogers outfit (childhood hero) and leading the charge on her horse, Ribbon. She takes comfort along the way with her good friend Elaine helping her find family in the heavenly skies. As we begin a new chapter below without, mom, we are reminded that our lights will dim one day too, and when that time comes, we will happily reunite. Until that time, I am reminded of and hear a song in the background as it closes out, "Happy Trails to You ... Until We Meet Again." Goodbye for now mom. Rest in peace. We love you!

June is survived by her loving husband and best friend of over 65 years, Bruce Dill; son, Kelly P. Dill of Littleton, CO; daughter Kim Roush; and two grandchildren, Ryan and Reed. She also survived by sister-in-law, Betty Segraves of Mayfield, KS, and many extended family members and friends.

A memorial celebration of life will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Kechi United Methodist Church, 4533 East 61st St N, Kechi, KS 67067.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to Wichita Animal Action League (WAAL), online by visiting https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/wichita-animal-action-league/general-online-giving-form or by mailing a check to WAAL, P.O. Box 21401, Wichita, KS 67208 with a note indicating it is in memory of June.