June Barbara Bakios

June 1, 1926 – October 16, 2026

If you were fortunate enough to attend June Bakios's 100th birthday celebration in Aspen this past June, you witnessed something that defined her remarkable life: the joy she brought to everyone around her. For a full century, June embraced life with optimism, warmth, and an infectious enthusiasm that made the world a little brighter for those who knew her.

Born June Dearent in Lawrence, Massachusetts, June spent the first eight years of her life being raised by nuns in a convent. While others might have viewed such an upbringing as unusual, June remembered it quite differently. "I had the best childhood ever!" she would often declare. That was June, always finding the good in life and never shy about celebrating it.

At age nine, June left the convent to live with her loving grandparents. She remained with them until she married John Bakios, whom she fondly described as "the cutest boy in the neighborhood." John had recently returned from serving in World War II, and on June 1, 1947 (her 21st birthday), they were married.

Their marriage brought together not only two people but an extended and lively Greek family. With John's seven brothers and their wives, there was no shortage of family gatherings, and June became the social glue that helped hold everyone together.

June and John made a striking couple, and they loved to dance. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, beautiful June and handsome John could often be found gliding across dance floors at public dance halls and private celebrations. They shared not just a love of dancing, but a love of being together and enjoying life.

Soon came their two daughters, Pamela and Barbara, and a new chapter of adventures. June had a particular fondness for convertibles, and on summer weekends she could often be spotted driving her daughters and their friends to the beach, top down, with laughter filling the car and everyone's hair blowing in the wind. It was a scene that captured June perfectly: carefree, fun-loving, and happiest when surrounded by people she loved.

In 2002, June and John left the Boston area for Grand Junction, Colorado, to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. The red cliffs and brilliant blue skies were a welcome change from New England, and June embraced this new chapter with her customary enthusiasm.

After John died in 2014, June—now affectionately known as "Grammie"—continued to bring warmth and optimism to those around her. Always impeccably dressed for dinner, complete with color-coordinated jewelry, she never lost her appetite for life's pleasures. When asked, "Would you like dessert?" her answer was invariably a smiling "Yes!"

June is survived by her daughters, Pamela Bakios of Grand Junction, Colorado, and Barbara Bakios-Wickes (Steve Wickes) of Aspen, Colorado; her grandson, Andrew Wickes (Adrianne

Simon); and her granddaughter, Whitney Wickes. One of the special joys of her final months was welcoming her first great-grandson, Zante Wickes, born August 23, 2026.

June's life spanned a century of extraordinary change, but some things about her never changed: her optimism, her love of family, and her remarkable ability to find joy in everyday life.

And perhaps that is how she would most like to be remembered—not simply for having lived 100 years, but for having enjoyed them so thoroughly.