June Irene Schoelerman

A funeral service for June Irene Schoelerman, age 95, of Lake Park, Iowa, will be held at 11 am, Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at Concordia Lutheran Church in Lake Park.  Visitation will begin at 9 am and continue until service time at the church.  Interment will be at Pleasant View Cemetery in Hartley.

June Irene Detlefsen was born on June 9, 1929 in Jackson, Minnesota, to Fred and Minnie Detlefsen. Her father was born in Germany and her mother in Kansas. June was born the fourth of five children, with two older sisters and one older brother. When she married her neighbor and high school sweetheart Gale Schoelerman, the local paper ran a headline referring to the “popular young couple” who wed on December 15, 1946. They were married for 72 years.

In the early years of their marriage, Gale and June farmed north of Round Lake, Minnesota, and began a family, raising Gary (born 1947), Craig (born 1950), and Debra (born 1953). In 1956, after ten years of farming, they sold the farm and moved their family across the country to San Jose, California. In San Jose, June worked at Linda Vista Elementary School in the cafeteria, helping to feed school children every day while also raising her own family at home.

In 1987, after 30 years in California, June and Gale retired and moved back home to Iowa, settling in Lake Park. They immediately got involved in the community. June was an active member of Concordia Lutheran Church, and was a friend to many in the community. She was involved in the American Legion Auxiliary, Lutheran Women’s Guild Ladies and a volunteer at the Care Center. With her friends she enjoyed dinner date nights, playing cards and dancing at Sioux Valley Log Cabin.

June’s life was not without heartbreak. Her sister Doris died when June was 5, her father died when she was 15, and her mother died when she was 19. Her son Craig died in 1978 in a boating accident when he was 28. But June also knew the joy and companionship of her siblings, many friends, and a growing family. She was deeply proud of her children and grandchildren. Her son Gary married Marelle Yongue and moved to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where he became an active member of the community, and June and Gale enjoyed visiting them in Louisiana. June’s daughter Debra married Mitchell Keadle, and had three children, Matthew, Gregory, and Kevin, and, eventually, five great-grandchildren, Cooper, Carter, Penelope, Maya, and Sierra June. When her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren came to visit, she’d send them home with a bucket of homemade cookies and sandwiches with hand drawn smiley faces drawn on the ziploc bags.

In their later years, June and Gale split their time between Lake Park, Iowa, and Thousand Palms, California, hosting happy hours with friends on their back porch in Iowa or their patio in California, and making many visits to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

June is survived by two children, Gary (Marelle) Schoelerman and Debra (Michell) Keadle; three grandsons, Matthew (Christina), Gregory (Stephanie), and Kevin (Michelle) Keadle; and five great-grandchildren (Cooper, Carter, Penelope, Maya, and Sierra June). She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Minnie, one son, Craig, her brother, John (Vi), her sisters, Doris, Ruth (Elmer), Ethel (Ellsworth). and her husband, Gale.

Donations in her name to St. Jude are welcomed in lieu of flowers.