June Robinson Mortensen

June Robinson Mortensen finished her journey on earth October 21, 2020 in Rexburg, Idaho.

She was born June 2, 1926 to Heber Clarence Robinson & Clarice Maude Johnson Robinson in Newdale, Idaho, she was the youngest of 6 brothers and 2 sisters. She lived with her family in the Newdale School House where her mother was the janitor after her father passed away when she was only 4 years old. This was a great place to live as there was always a gymnasium available to play in.  She was born with a competitive spirit whether picking potatoes or playing sports – she liked to be a winner and do her best.   She became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being baptized in the Newdale canal on her 8th birthday, 1934.

She learned the value of work. Every fall she worked in the potatoes harvest filling wire baskets with potatoes and dumping 2 baskets full into a gunny sack.  She was very fast and could fill 200 to 300 sacks a day.  She was paid 2 cents a basket.  She liked to have a good laugh and they would occasionally fill a gunny sack with weeds, then watch as the men would take hold of a sack they assumed would be heavy and watch their faces when it wasn’t.

June graduated from Sugar Salem High School in 1944. After graduation she moved to Salt Lake City to work.   While in Utah she played on a semi-pro basketball team called the ‘Dupler Fur’. She attended Ricks College in 1947 where she was the president of ‘Kappa Phi’, president of the Women’s Athletic Association, and worked on the year book ‘Rixida’ staff.

She became a teacher and taught in a one room school house in Lyman where she discovered that one of her students had a very handsome brother. She met and married Orin Keith Mortensen after this marriage proposal: “Would you like a ring or should I buy a Hoover Wagon?”.  They were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City temple Dec 19, 1947 by Joseph Fielding Smith.   They enjoyed the dances at Riverside and she told us often that Dad was a very good dancer.

They settled in Lyman and began their family and life together. She wrote in a journal in 1955 that they had “24 chickens, one pig, 20 head of cattle, one horse, a black & white dog, 3 kittens, 1 goldfish, 1 sheep, and 86 acres of land that we hope to have paid for by the fall”. She and Keith worked hard to provide for their family and were always willing to help out a neighbor or friend.

She served in many positions in the church – sports director, camp director, YWMIA President, Primary President, Relief Society President and while serving in that calling organized a Lyman Ward cookbook and was in charge of many fund raising projects for the new Lyman Ward church building. Her favorite calling was being the sports director because of her love of sports and being able to share that with the young women.   She made lifelong friends in Lyman and was a dedicated Visiting Teacher. Many of these friends became part of the “Lunch Bunch” that got together once a month to celebrate birthdays.  Her friends often called her “June Bug”.  Plates filled with goodies and love were given to neighbors often.

She became one of the cooks in the Madison High School cafeteria. She enjoyed making delicious home cooked meals for the students, and especially enjoyed the friendships with the other cooks.  She served for many years as an election worker.

She loved all sports playing on city league softball teams, bowling leagues, golfing, volleyball, basketball, croquet and badminton on the front lawn.  She won an award in college for her archery skills.  She loved to go watch games, especially if one of the grandkids were playing.

She found a wonderful way to serve in her later years by tying hundreds and hundreds of Humanitarian quilts. There was always a quilt on the wooden frames in the living room.

Family get togethers were an important part of her life whether it was an Easter Egg hunt at the sand dunes, playing water baseball on the flooded front lawn, picking huckleberries together, Christmas Eve gatherings or New Year’s Eve ‘Rook’ tournaments. She loved spending time with family and friends.

She is survived by daughters Debbie (husband - Terry) Orme and Mala (husband - LaMaun) Lyon and son Mel (wife - Kathy) Mortensen and 18 grandchildren and 53 great grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Keith, in 2001 and her daughter, Jana Kay Young, in 1978.  She was the last of her brothers and sisters.  What a wonderful family reunion they must be having.

We are so grateful for the wonderful care given to Mom by Homestead Assisted Living in Rexburg these past years.

A graveside service will be held at 5:00pm Friday, October 23 ^rd at the Sutton Cemetery in Archer, Idaho.  Family only will meet prior to this service at Eckersell Funeral Home in Rigby.

Interment at the Sutton Cemetery in Archer, Idaho.

At the family’s request in lieu of flowers, we would encourage you to make contributions in her honor to the Idaho Falls Area Humanitarian Center online https://ifareahumanitariancenter.org/donate or mail in to:

Idaho Falls Area Humanitarian Center

1415 Northgate Mile

Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401

My Advice to Live by:

The more you give, the more you get.

The more you laugh, the less you fret.

The more you do unselfishly,

the more you live abundantly.

The more of everything you share,

the more you'll always have to spare.

The more you love, the more you'll find

that life is good and friends are kind.

For only what we give away,

enriches us from day to day.

~Author Unknown