June was born to Louie and Minnie (Siebrasse) Henry on June 11, 1928. She was the oldest, with a younger brother Clyde and little sister Bonnie. She graduated from Fremont High School and cosmetology school in Grand Island. There she met the brother of one of her classmates, Bill (William) Stratman and married him on August 14th, 1949. They were married over 25 years and had three children; Larry, Cheryl and Emily. Bill tragically died of cancer in 1977.
In 1989 she married Don Nelson. With him she was able to travel to Hungary, Germany, Austria and Hawaii when she accompanied him with his work for Valmont. She also traveled on her own to visit her daughter in Alaska. As members of the Midwest Early Corvette Club, they traveled to Colorado for "Vettes on the Rockies", western Nebraska and even to the 50th Corvette Anniversary celebrated at the Indy 500, being the representative car for 1986.
June loved her career as a beautician and worked until she was 88 years old. Early on, she worked at the iconic shop "Alberta's" and was there at work when the Pathfinder Hotel exploded. Afterwards she worked at Caro-Laines shop. She finished her career with Denise Taylor at Styles Unlimited, where she was fully appreciated, even with her name on the front window!
During the middle of her life she joined the service and education sorority, Beta Upsilon chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Int. invited by her cousins Joan Scott and Joyce Siems. They all worked hard to accomplish their goals, and had a ton of fun together.
June was a life-long member of First Lutheran Church of Fremont. She was a member of one of the "Circles" and was always willing to provide food or serve at gatherings whenever she was asked. June Loved to read and spent many, many happy hours creating beautiful counted cross stitch needlework masterpieces.
Family was important to June and she put a lot of effort into gathering everyone together. This included her own family, mostly around Fremont, Bill's family, mostly at Grand Island and later Don's family, whenever they could be together.
Not always a happy-go-lucky person, June endured growing up during the Great Depression, and the tragic suicide death of her father in her early 20s. She definitely learned to work hard and had an incredible amount of inner strength. She showed her love and care for family and friends until the very end of her life at 93 years old.
June is survived by her husband Don Nelson, her sister Bonnie Strauss, and her two daughters Cheryl and Emily, (her son Larry passed in 2013), plus Don's children Pam and Dan. Altogether she had nine grandchildren: Isaac, Amos, Talitha, Noah, Sawyer, Angie, Alyssa, Ashley and Sammy; plus eight great-grandchildren.
June will be greatly missed by her family and friends.
As members of the Midwest Early corvette club, they traveled to Colorado to Vettes on the Rockies, Western Nebraska and even to the 50th Corvette Anniversary Celebration at the Indy 500, being the sole 1986 corvette representative.
Visitation at the Ludvigsen Mortuary Chapel in Fremont will be Tuesday, July 13, 2021 from 3pm to 8pm with the family present from 6pm to 8pm. The funeral will be 10:30am, Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at First Lutheran Church in Fremont. Burial will follow in Memorial Cemetery.
Online guestbook at www.Ludvigsenmortuary.com
To watch a recording of the funeral please copy the following link:
https://youtu.be/HcfRkbfw-qM
Condolences(5)
Mike McCarron
Bellevue, NE Tuesday, July 13, 2021 KC and I extend our sympathies to Don and June's family. We remember June from our events with the Midwest Early Corvette Club. May June Rest in Peace.Sharon (Carstensen) Carson
, IA Sunday, July 11, 2021 Our condolences to the family, I loved June and can remember all the great times our families had, when I was growing up. God bless you all.Gary & Judy Knoell
Fremont, NE Saturday, July 10, 2021 Don and family, our sympathies to you. I enjoy my time with June in sorority. A great lady.Phyllis Bart
Arlington, NE Saturday, July 10, 2021 Don, my sympathy to you and all her family.Jack Urban
Goodyear, AZ Friday, July 9, 2021 So sorry to hear about June's passing. I have many wonderful memories of her during our activities with Midwest Early Corvette Club. She was one of the most hospitable people I have ever met.