June Irene MacInnis, of Petoskey, Michigan, died on December 23, 2018, after a brief illness. She was 98. June was born on June 22, 1920, in Midvale, Ohio, to Frank and Sarah Sweasey.
She was the second oldest of seven children. After high school, June enrolled at Massillon City Hospital over the objections of her father to become a registered nurse. She was studying for exams when she heard President Franklin Roosevelt on the radio announcing that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor.
She promptly enlisted in the U.S. Army, completed her studies and went on active duty as a second lieutenant in the Nurse Corps. While in training with an Army hospital unit preparing to go overseas, she met Tech Sergeant James MacInnis of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, who was in training to become a hospital administrator with the same unit.
Their unit was sent to England in 1943 where it remained until the war’s end. They were married after the war and moved to the Sault, where they lived for more than 50 years in a home they built themselves. While living in the Sault, June worked for a short time at the local hospital in the obstetrics unit.
Later, she worked for the health department administering immunizations and then, in her favorite job, worked for the public schools conducting vision screening for elementary children in the eastern Upper Peninsula. She also helped conduct the 1960 census. She was active in the Parent Teacher Association and the First Presbyterian Church of Sault Ste.
Marie. For years, June made batches of caramels at Christmastime, using her secret recipe and a particular process to wrap them in waxed paper that no one else could do just right. Her caramels became gifts to many family members and happy coworkers of her son.
In recent years, she took delight in sharing the whole process with willing grandchildren who helped keep the annual tradition alive. She also played the piano for many years. She was able to resume playing briefly at age 94 when presented with an electronic keyboard as a gift by her daughter-in-law.
June was a loyal fan of Ohio State University. Woody Hayes had been the football coach at her high school in New Philadelphia, Ohio, when she was a student there. She shared many conversations on the phone with her daughter in Massachusetts during Michigan State basketball and football games.
She enjoyed family trips to Disney World, Ohio family reunions, Mackinac Island and Massachusetts. She spent her last seven birthdays staying at the Grand Hotel with her daughter’s family. On her 98th birthday, she was upgraded to the Presidential Suite.
June was quoted saying she couldn’t have another birthday because things do not get better than that. June is survived by her son Charles (Kathleen), of Harbor Springs, and her daughter Barbara MacInnis-Kimball (Clifford) of West Boylston, Massachusetts, along with three grandchildren, Scott MacInnis, Robert MacInnis and Katie Kimball, and three great grandchildren, Brady, June and Viola. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and all six brothers and sisters, all of Ohio.
Reflecting on her family and her life, she often said, “I’m the luckiest woman in the world”. Recently, her son asked her what he should do if he came into her room at American House and found her not breathing. Without hesitation, she replied, “Say thank you”.
At her request, no funeral services are planned.
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