June Celeste (Green) Duston, 89, of Boothbay Harbor, formerly of Hampstead, N.H., slipped peacefully away Oct. 3 surrounded by family. She was born Aug. 11, 1928 in St. Louis, Mo., the daughter of John W. and Celeste A. (Shoemaker) Green.
As a young girl, June enjoyed dancing and acrobatics. She enjoyed some notoriety in high school as the only girl on the gymnastics team. She graduated from Blewett High School in 1946. She and her sisters visited the Green family farm on East Road in Hampstead during the summers to experience country life on a farm. It was there that she met Gene Duston, the love of her life. They were married at the Green farm on July 24, 1949 and shared a wonderful life together for 62 years.
June was a wonderful and devoted mother and homemaker. She served as a Cub Scout den mother and member of the PTA. For several summers, June’s homemade rolls, cookies and pies could be found at the Duston vegetable stand. She was a member of the Hampstead Fire Department’s Women’s Auxiliary when serious fires occurred and food was needed to support the firefighters. The Duston kitchen was the center of activity during the Camp Tel Noar fire with women making sandwiches and coffee.
June was a dedicated secretary at the Hampstead Elementary and Hampstead Middle Schools from 1966-1984. She also worked during the summers at the superintendent’s office.
June and Gene were inseparable and loved dancing together. She enjoyed picking vegetables and flowers from their gardens, watching the Red Sox, and many years with family and friends at their camp on the Bearcamp River in West Ossipee, N.H.
June lost her husband, Gene, on May 6, 2012.
She is survived by daughter, Linda Adams and husband Brian of Wiscasset; son, John Duston and Ellen Newkirk of Anchorage and Eagle River, Alaska; grandchildren, Melissa Adams Twist and husband Martin of Bushey Heath, UK, Amanda Adams Friesen and husband Wesley of North Bend, Wash., and Jessica Duston of Anchorage, Alaska; great-grandchildren, Kayla and Jasun Duston, William and Joseph Twist, and Samuel Friesen; sisters, Marilyn Wilson of Florissant, Mo., and Shirley “Mitzi” Bird of Batavia, N.Y.; first cousin, Virginia Duston of Hampstead, N.H.; sister-in-law, Thelma “Sparky” Petell of Concord, N.H.; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
There will be a memorial service for June and Gene at the First Congregational Church in Wiscasset in May 2018.
Those who wish to remember June in a special way may make gifts in her memory to St. Andrew’s Village, Gregory Wing, 145 Emery Lane, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538; or the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 383 US Route One, Suite 2C, Scarborough, ME 04074.
Memories and condolences may be shared at directcremationofmaine.com.
Arrangements are under the care of Direct Cremation of Maine, 182 Waldo Ave., Belfast.