June Genieve Ayers was born on Oct. 13, 1925, in Randle, Washington and passed away on Nov. 18, 2021 at Providence Hospital in Centralia, Washington due to health issues. June was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin O’Connell, parents Ed and Ella (Dunn) Ayers, her brother John Swigert, and son-in-law Dick Rico. June was adopted by her loving parents, Ed and Ella (Dunn) Ayers, and enjoyed an adventurous and meaningful childhood. She was born during the Depression and to find work the Ayers family moved to many different places. One of those moves, that June did not care for, was Seattle where both parents worked as bartenders. She couldn't wait to get back to Mossyrock to her roots. June always said, "Once a Viking, Always a Viking." She loved that little town. The Ayers lived with Grandma Dunn on the old homestead by the Cowlitz River for a while during the Depression. June met many Native Americans as they would travel down the Cowlitz and trade with Grandma Dunn, many times spending the night and eating meals at the homestead. She developed a great affection for the Native American culture and always admired their work ethic, honesty and friendliness toward Grandma Dunn. June attended Mossyrock Schools from first to twelfth grade, graduating as the salutatorian in 1943. She was active in school activities and loved dancing, sports, cheerleading and even school work. June met the love of her life, Marvin “Irish” O'Connell, her freshman year of high school. June and Marvin were separated by World War II, but when Irish returned to Lewis County for three days before shipping out, in February of 1944, they were married at the Lewis County Courthouse.
While Marvin was gone, June worked as a Rosie at the Chehalis Boeing Plant. She was twice refused work at the plant because she had no fingerprints. In first grade, she had severe frostbite from walking to school in the snow and it damaged her fingertips. Finally, Boeing relented and her jobs as a riveter, a welder, and a parts distributor began. Her wage was $1.48 per hour. June was proud of her job at Boeing and felt she was helping the war effort in her own little way. It made her feel closer to Marv as she waited for him to return home. June was very patriotic, sang the National Anthem every time she heard it, and wore her flag pins and American flag sweatshirts at every opportunity. When Marv returned home from the war, the O'Connells started their family. Mike was born in 1946, Mary in 1951 and Robyn in 1952. The O'Connell family was baptized Catholic in 1954. June and Marv loved going to music jam sessions, dancing and bowling. One could see the O'Connell girls at the bowling alley on a Sunday night in their pajamas with freshly washed hair in pin curls watching their parents bowl. Mike would many times be keeping score. Marv was tragically killed in a logging accident in 1961 when the kids were 14, 10 and 8. June became a single parent at a very young age. She was briefly married to John Concannon in 1967 and later divorced.
June worked in the lunchroom for the Mossyrock School District as well as a clerk for Ghosn's Grocery, Darnell Drug Store and finally 14 years at Yard Birds as a cashier. She was a 4-H leader. Her club, which of course included her daughters, was called the "Better Batter Beaters." One of June's passions was bowling. She was an amazing bowler and traveled to many state and national bowling tournaments with her lifelong friends whom she loved like sisters: Marietta, Myrt, Donna, Jane, Bun, Jo, Rocky, Dorothy, Dollie and Beverly. She continued bowling until the age of 93 and many times rolled a 200 game.
June met John Dolan in the 1990s and thus began their 20 year relationship. They lived next door to each other at the Southgate Terrace apartments, where June was the longest renting tenant — 32 years. She had incredible neighbors who looked after her and deeply cared for her. John and June enjoyed traveling, attending their grandchildren's sporting events, plays and school functions and loved eating out. They went on an Alaskan cruise and loved dancing. "Papa John" was very loved by June's family. He asked June to marry him several times but the answer was always, "Not ready for that yet."
June's family meant everything to her and she would often say, "Nobody has a family like mine. How did this happen? How did I get so lucky?!" Her family adored her. June’s generosity, her positive outlook on life and her belief that every day was a gift from God set an example her family tries to emulate every day. The love she felt for her family is unmatched. June is survived by her son Michael (Carol) O'Connell; daughters Mary Rico and Robyn (Dennis) Overbay; grandchildren Lyndsie (Dan) Winter, Ryan (Tina) Overbay, Kelly (Jim) Weisfield, Amanda (Kurt) Olson, Heather (Terrace) Davis, Amy (Mark) Colthurst and Natasha (Jeremy) Landram; 16 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandsons. A celebration of life will be held for June on Jan. 16, 2021 at the Mossyrock Community Center at 1 p.m. A light lunch will be served. If you have a memory to share, please email them to dmrico@toledotel.com. Bring your dancing shoes. June's love for dancing will be honored by playing 40s, 50s and other music she loved. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Beat the Bridge - Team Beckett – Seattle. You can mail your check in memory of June O'Connell to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), 1215 Fourth Ave., Seattle, Washington, 98161.
