June Marie (King) Liebing

Lifetime Alaskan and pre-Colonist, June Liebing, died, at the age of 95, on August 13, 2016, surrounded by family and friends at the Palmer Veterans Pioneers Home.

Born on August 3, 1921 in Ketchikan, to Emma Catherine (Corron) & Clyde Vane King, she lived in Craig, Alaska, then in Idaho and Washington State. In 1932, her parents sold their farm on Seattle’s Beacon Hill and returned to Alaska, homesteading at King’s Lake, near Wasilla. She attended the Moore School on Anderson (now Shaw) Lake and in Wasilla, where she played basketball. In 1937, the family moved to Palmer and she graduated from Palmer High in 1938 at the age of 16. June attended UAF for one year before transferring to Seattle College, where she earned a degree in nursing education and an RN. During WWII, she worked in hospitals in Louisiana and Nevada before moving back to Palmer, where she lived the rest of her life.

In September of 1948, she married A.G. “Bud” Liebing and moved to a home he built on Outer Springer Loop, where she and Bud raised their family. After he died in 1989, she continued to live in that home for 11 ½ years before moving to downtown Palmer. In 2008, she moved into the Pioneer Home, where she was lovingly and skillfully cared for until her death.

June was a loving wife and mother, a beloved friend to many, and a helping hand in the community. In addition to being an accomplished cook, she loved to tend her flowers and to take long outdoor walks. When her children were all in school, June went to work as a school nurse. Later she started and ran the Home Health Aide program in the Mat-Su Borough. She volunteered in many ways: she went on missionary trips with Rev. Bingle; served as election judge –including the Statehood election; was a Camp Fire leader and 4-H assistant leader; made thousands of lollipops for her children’s club fundraisers; planned and helped with health fairs; served on the boards of directors for the Valley Hospital Assn., the Palmer Senior Center and for Kings Lake Camp, which was founded by her father as the first children’s summer camp in Alaska. She was a volunteer EMT for the Palmer Fire Department, taught first aid and EMT classes, served as a Stephens Minister, was an officer in the Women of the Moose, and tutored kindergarten students, among other activities.

In 1997, June received the United Way Dorothy Jones Volunteer of the Year Award and in 2004 she was honored by the Alaska Legislature for her lifetime of service to the state.

Countless members of the community found a listening ear, solace and wisdom, as well as warm friendship over a cup of coffee with her. June was known for her loving, encouraging presence, her hugs, hospitality and of course, lollipops. To her family, she was guidance, love and life. She will be greatly missed.

June was preceded in death by her husband, Bud; her parents and brother, Clyde, Emma, Clyde King; sister, AraBelle Black, great-grandchildren, Esther and Jacob Marchetti. She leaves son, Michael (Lois) Liebing; daughters, Ruth (John) Marchetti, Patti (Richard) Ricard, grandchildren, James (Christina) Marchetti, Joe (Sharon) Marchetti, Jonna Briannon, Richelle Ricard, Ryan Ricard, Richard Liebing, Andrew Liebing, Abigail Liebing; and great-grandchildren, Dane, Archer, Autumn, Gideon, Mia, Orlando, Max, Vivian, Maddy, Eli, Enoch, Ezra, Gianna, Logan, Declan and Finn.

Services will be on Saturday, August 27th at 3:30 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 440 E Elmwood Ave, Palmer, AK 99645, Pastor Jonathon Rockey will officiate. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Palmer Seniors’ Center or your local women’s shelter.