June Foster Richey, surrounded by her loving children, passed away May 5, 2013, at the Hospice House of North Idaho after losing a courageous fight against cancer. She was born June 8, 1928, in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., to parents Laura (Banning) Foster and Harrison Foster.

She grew up in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., and spent summers in Putney, Vt., at the family farm. Her mother, a botanist and biology teacher from the Bronx of New York, and her father, a Montana dude rancher met after a train trip west to visit Yellowstone National Park and the dude ranch where he was working. June was an only child and forged lifelong bonds with her cousins Chick, Lydia and Teddy from the many summers they were together, playing and having great adventures.

She graduated 17th out of a class of 500 from A.B. Davis High School, Mt. Vernon, in January 1946. Besides being an honor student, she was vice president of her senior class and was involved in many clubs and activities. She also did volunteer work for underprivileged children in New York State at Camp Edalia in Haverstraw, N.Y., for part of the summer during her high school years. Camp Edalia was associated with the settlement house Stuyvesant Neighborhood House, located in lower east New York City. After high school, she worked as a page girl for the Texaco Company in the Chrysler building in New York City.

In 1947, she and her parents traveled west to Montana and the Gallatin Gateway Canyon with all of their belongings in an old panel van. She recalled they had four flat tires the first day and they slept in tents, as there were no motels on their route. The Crazy Mountains in Montana were the first “real” mountains she saw in her life. After attending the University of Colorado for one year, she married Albert Richey of Bozeman, Mont., in Bozeman on Jan. 12, 1948.

During the early years of their marriage, they lived briefly in Boise. In 1955 the family moved to Dalton Gardens after Albert found employment with Potlatch Mills. She remained a homemaker, helping raise their four children. She loved the great outdoors and all things natural, an appreciation passed to her by her mother. She had a special talent for writing and rhyming which revealed her unique sense of humor. Her favorite activities included family camps, hiking and camping in Glacier National Park and Yosemite, floating on the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers, traveling with her special friends Ralph and Mable Lamb and square dancing.

Her six grandchildren (Erik and Steve Lamb, Brian and Lauren Johnson, Galen Du and Laura Richey) were her special love. They had such a special relationship with their grandmother and were fortunate to share their accomplishments with her. She also leaves behind her great-granddaughter, Ava Lamb, who declared “great-grandma is an angel now.” She is greatly admired by her family for her courage and determination “to do it her way.” She will be missed very much. Her husband, Albert; cousin Lydia Borgeson; in-laws, Kenneth, Virgil and Vera Mae Richey, and Ruth Billman; and her parents preceded her in death. In addition to her grandchildren and great-granddaughter, her cousins, Arty Parac, Jessie Farrington, Connie Gatling and Teddy Berg survive her. She also leaves behind her four children, Margaret Lamb, Janice (Steve) Johnson, Paul (Beth) Richey and Catherine (Tom) Duff.

Her family wishes to thank the doctors and staff of Kootenai Cancer Care in Post Falls and the staff of Hospice House of North Idaho, especially to Marta and Joe who so compassionately cared for her and her family.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 8, 2013, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, corner of Fifth Street and Wallace, Coeur d’Alene. Memorial donations may be made online or mailed to the Hospice House of North Idaho, 2290 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815 or the Children’s Village Foundation, 1350 West Hanley Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815. Please sign June’s online guest book at www.belltowerfuneralhome.com.