June died on March 4th, aged 72, in Willen Hospice. She had never been one to dwell on her own ailments, and neither she nor her husband and family had any idea that she was seriously ill until less than a fortnight before her death. She is mourned by her husband John, her only son Paul and his wife Tracy, her brother John and her sister Joan, her grandchildren Chloe, James, Abigail and Ollie, other members of the family, and many friends. June was a New Year baby, born on 4th January 1938 in Dagenham. Her parents were George and May Chard, and she had an older brother and sister, John and Joan, both of whom are here today. It is especially hard for them to accept that she, who was the youngest, should be the first to go. It must have been a difficult time to be bringing up a young family in the Thirties, as the post-war years turned into the inter-war years. Within a year of her birth, the lives of a whole generation were turned upside down by the Second World War, and the prospect of life in London was governed by bombs, blackout and blitz. June was only two when the three children were evacuated to Bletchley to live with relations. She went to her grandparents and became very close to them. She could remember her grandfather collecting her from nursery in a wheelbarrow, and Golding’s Ices on the way home, which she found preferable to the dog-biscuits that she also sampled. This must have been a happy time for the children, who were luckier than most of the evacuees, because they had a loving family to go to. While they no doubt enjoyed their time in Bletchley, it is ironic that if the Germans had discovered what was going on at Bletchley Park, this would have been a prime target for the bombers, and one of the most dangerous places in Britain. June went to Bletchley Road School and grew up into an attractive and lively young girl with a quick mind and a good memory. When the war was over, the children returned to London and June completed her schooling. After this, she worked in various jobs, and like most young girls, spent half of her first pay packet on a pair of pretty shoes. She was of a sociable nature and made many friends of both sexes. One of these was her future husband Dave Simpson, whom she married in 1959. For many years they ran a guest-house near Bournemouth, where their only son Paul was born in 1965, and shortly after they decided to return to Junes wartime home of Bletchley. June worked for various employers in Milton Keynes among them Cowley and Wilson, EMEB, Barclay’s, MKDC and Perry’s, where she remained for 17 years. Dave’s health then began to give cause for concern yet June met all the demands of simultaneously earning a living, bringing up a son and nursing a very sick husband who had to have dialysis at home and spent frequent spells in hospital. It was not easy for any of them, but June learned the specialist nursing-techniques necessary to administer the dialysis process as if she were a professional. She did all she could to make Dave as comfortable as she could for as long as possible, and undoubtedly managed to prolong his life. He was 76 when he died in 1998. June was in many ways very much a woman of her time, the product of a happy home, which she sought to recreate in her turn when she eventually became a wife and mother herself. June was a protective mother, firm but fair, and always up for whatever activity was going on. Her family meant everything to her and she absolutely worshipped all her grandchildren as they came along. She was a good cook of typical English dishes and according to Paul, made the best bacon and eggs in the world. She was always a cheerful companion on holiday, and Joan recalls that they had hilarious struggles getting stuck in the bath when they were away together for a weekend in Derby. After Dave’s death, June made a new life for herself, and through a mutual interest in golf, met her second husband John, whom she married in 2001. With him, she inherited another family, Anne and Carol, Johns Daughters and there children, Natalie, Ryan, Glen and Lisa that must have gratified her. June and John had great happiness together for almost nine years, sharing their mutual interests and enjoying the pleasures of retirement. To June and her family, John was “a real gentleman”, in the original meaning of “a gentle man,” and their different temperaments made for a very happy balance. This was demonstrated by such incidents as her panic on taking the dog’s tablets by mistake. She phoned around for help while John calmly administered salt water as an emetic, which turned out not to be necessary, as she did not develop canine behavioural traits of an antisocial nature. On more peaceful days they passed their time in reading, playing golf, caring for their home and garden, and taking memorable cruise-holidays to the Fiords, the Baltic and the Western Mediterranean. Sadly, in 2009 John had to have treatment for cancer and had to spend some time in hospital in Oxford. June went to see him every day and looked after him when he came home with her usual devotion and patience. It was said of her that she was a woman who did not suffer fools gladly, but when anyone needed love and attention, she was there for them every inch of the way. June is where she always has been, safe in the hearts and minds of those she loved, for love is the one thing that never dies.