June Wester Phillips

June Wester Phillips passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, March 18, 2016 at the age of 86 years in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is survived by her husband of almost 59 years, C. Earl Phillips; her brother, John Wester; brother-in-law Maxwell H. Phillips; and several nieces and nephews. Born on August 16, 1929 in Little Rock, Arkansas, June is preceded in death by her parents, Algie and Martha Thames Wester and her sister, Welda Wester Sullivan. Most of June’s younger years were spent in New Orleans with family and friends. After graduating from high school, she attended art school for two years. June then worked as a commercial artist for L. M. Berry with her designs often appearing in the newspaper in advertisements for several large department stores. She made friends in New Orleans that she would keep throughout her lifetime. Later in her career, she did freelance artwork of many types, but specialized in colonial homes in a batik medium. In her high school yearbook, June expressed her wish to travel the world. When she married Earl, a chemical engineer from Louisiana whom she met in New Orleans, she fulfilled that dream living in many places in the United States and overseas through her husband’s long career with Kaiser Aluminum: New Orleans; West Virginia; Ghana, West Africa; Washington state (two times); Germany; Wales, United Kingdom; California (two times), and Mandeville, Louisiana where they lived for 22 years before moving to Baton Rouge. June and Earl also traveled a great deal throughout the United States and Europe acquiring objet d’art for their charming home. Some of their favorite vacations were spent collecting shells on the beaches of Florida, experiencing the changing autumn leaves in Maine, and visiting historic sites in Virginia. But wherever June and her beloved “Phil” lived or traveled, they always made time to play bridge and visit with friends and family. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations in June’s name to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America or the Alzheimer’s Association.