June Adele Berndt

June Adele Berndt, 83, of Pekin, passed away on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. She was born on September 18, 1942 in Kadoka, South Dakota, a daughter of John J. and Florence M. (Patnoe) Starkjohann. June married Charles "Charlie" F. Berndt on August 2, 1964 in Loveland, Colorado. He survives.

She is also survived by her three sons, Rev. Matthew (Shana) Berndt of Manito, Michael (Cindy) Berndt of Parker, Colorado, and Brian (Melissa) Berndt of Pekin; and seven grandchildren, Andrew, Kaelyn, Isaac, Ethan, Thomas, Lucas, and Timothy Berndt.

June was preceded in death by her parents; two grandsons, Benjamin and Jack Berndt; three brothers, Robert, Clifford, and Floyd Starkjohann; and two sisters, Betty and Joyce Starkjohann.

She was a graduate of Loveland High School and attended Central Business College in Denver, Colorado.

June dearly loved her family: her husband, her three sons, and especially her grandchildren. She treasured her time with them and enjoyed watching all their activities: sports, piano recitals, dancing, etc. She also loved to play cards and board games with them whenever we were together! She was so very happy to have three wonderful daughters-in-law and one lovely granddaughter after so many years in an all-male house (even the dog)!

June enjoyed reading and various crafts. She enjoyed sewing and was an excellent cook. She loved to bake the various breads everyone liked. And of course the peanut butter balls at Christmas! Turkey and dressing was a specialty at the holidays. She took a class on English Smocking with her dear friend Susan Wolf, and loved it. Over the years she specialized in making Christmas trees and ornaments and Easter eggs.

June was a member of St. John's (Sand Prairie) Lutheran Church in Green Valley. She was involved in many activities there, including membership in the Rebecca Circle and Altar Guild, and serving as Financial Secretary. She was a member of several Bible classes including Sunday mornings, a ladies group on Monday afternoon and a Wednesday evenings class. She and Charlie have been members of this group continuously for 47 years. Over the years, it has produced a great number of wonderful Christian friends as we grew together spiritually. June would want to give special thanks to dear friends Jim and Pat Fairchild who have also been there since the beginning.

June has been an active volunteer at Ewe's Treasures Resale Shop since it began in 1986. She has served on the Ewe's Board of Directors for many years, as manager of the shop for 20 years and helped it grow into a community fixture during that time. After "retiring" as manager she continued on the Board and as an active volunteer in the shop until the present. She was very excited to see Ewe's add a second shop, Ewe's Home Furnishings, and has also volunteered there. She truly loved this service work and the support it has provided to Good Shepherd Lutheran School!

June and Charlie were also active in the Peoria area Lutheran WATCH (We Are The Church) Ministry, which presents weekend retreats to promote Spiritual Renewal. She reluctantly gave a talk at a retreat and then progressed from there to lead a full weekend retreat! She always said "God did it" because she couldn't! She gave WATCH credit for helping her to grow in her faith in Jesus.

June and Charlie enjoyed traveling together. They have visited all 50 states and many countries. They saw Europe while Charlie was stationed there. Some of the special trips they made included Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, the Holy Land and a variety of cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.

June had a very strong faith in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She lived her faith every day and loved everyone she met. She was willing to help in any way she could. She now resides in Heaven!

June's visitation will be from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Thursday, October 30, 2025, at the Preston-Hanley Funeral Home in Pekin. An additional visitation will be from 9:30 am to 10:30 am on Friday, October 31, 2025, at St. John's Sand Prairie Lutheran Church in Green Valley. Her funeral service will take place at 10:30 am also on Friday at the church. Rev. Chris Sansom will officiate. Burial will be in Sand Prairie Cemetery in Green Valley.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. John's Sand Prairie Lutheran Church at https://www.stjsp.org/give or Good Shepherd Lutheran School in Pekin.

Online condolences may be shared with June's family at www.Preston-Hanley.com