June Marie Lewis Whipple

June Marie Lewis Whipple, 88, died peacefully in her sleep, of cancer, at Among Friends assisted living home in Palmer, Alaska, on March 16, 2017. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 20, 1928 to Dorothy Lillian Blaisdell (née Gates) and adopted by Irving and Mary Jane Lewis of West Allis, Wisconsin.

While attending Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, June enjoyed playing the bassoon, oboe, piano and violin, and was active in band, orchestra and sports. She was elected class president and graduated with honors in 1946. June accepted the Lord Jesus as her Savior as a camper at newly-founded Camp AWANA in Wisconsin. June studied Bible and Greek for three years at Milwaukee Bible Institute (now Grace Bible College of Grand Rapids, MI) where her mentor/pastor, Charles Baker, was president. This school honored her as alumna of the year in 1979. June continued her formal education at Wisconsin State College in Milwaukee, graduating in 1953 as an English major with a bachelor's degree in secondary education. June relocated to Washington, D.C., where she taught Christian education and doctrine at Washington Bible College (now Capital Bible Seminary) for three years.

In 1955, she married Elden Whipple, Jr., a space physicist. Together they raised three children and made their home in Washington, D.C. (1956-62), Bowie, Maryland (1962-65), Boulder, Colorado (1965-75), San Diego, California (1975-94), Bothell, Washington (1994-02), and Palmer, Alaska (2002-present). Throughout her adult life June was active in teaching the Bible, through women's classes, retreats, youth camps, Sunday school classes, and for over two decades as a teaching leader with Bible Study Fellowship in Boulder, Colorado, and in San Diego, California. June served as Director of Christ ian Education at First Presbyterian Church in San Diego from 1984-1986 and again from 1991-1993. She served on session at this church and also on the boards of various camp and outreach ministries.

She touched the lives of many and was known, and widely appreciated, for her objective, cohesive approach to interpretation, teaching, counseling and mentoring. A teacher of teachers, she promoted biblical thinking and emphasized the importance of the Apostle Paul's contribution to contemporary thought and culture. June was a voracious and disciplined reader; she enjoyed expositional commentaries, devotionals, biographies, U.S. history, current affairs, and mysteries.

Those she taught remember her fondly as July Ripple, 'Book-Pusher.' Through letters, visits and phone calls (listing Alexander Graham Bell as her patron saint) she kept in touch with and encouraged a wide circle of friends. For a more limited circle she offered a wry, real-politik appraisal of current affairs and politics. Among her many maxims were: ‘Order not Perfection,' ‘Never Assume Anything,' ‘This too shall pass,' ‘Once more with grace,' ‘What is, is' and ‘Onward and Forward'! She maintained an active prayer life, contributed generously to many causes and, like St. Francis, showed kindness to birds and beasts, regularly feeding the birds and squirrels and viewing the plentiful moose that visited her home in Alaska. June was thrilled to learn, late in life, of the identity of her birth mother and the Jewish ancestry of her birth father. This led to the happy discovery of and loving friendship with the Gottslebens on her mother's side.

June is survived by her husband of 60 years, Elden; her children and their spouses: Peter (Karen) Whipple of Thousand Oaks, California; Ben (Diana) Whipple of Palmer, Alaska; and Norah (Tom) Caudill of San Diego, California; eight grandchildren: John, Heidi, Joseph, Mollie, Jacob, Michelle, Keziah and David; two great-grandchildren: Zora and Lydia; brother Raymond R. "Dick" (Jeanne) Lewis and nephews David and Paul; sister Kathy (Immanuel) Swikert and nephews Phil (Kim) and Mark and niece Rachel (fiancé Bill Kerspin); and nephew Tom (Patty Livingston) Gottsleben and niece Gloria Gottsleben. She was preceded in death by her nephew Timothy Swikert.

Two memorial services are planned:

1) Palmer, Alaska, Sat., April 29, 3 p.m., Lazy Mountain Bible Church, 16005 E. Shawn Dr.

2) San Diego, California, Sat., July 22, 10:00 am, First Presbyterian Church, 320 Date St.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to Latham Christian Camping, c/o Camp AWANA, 3859 N. Central Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60634.