June E Royal

Royal, June Elinor age 99 of Torrance, California went home to be with the Lord on January 11, 2021. She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 5, 1921 to Paul and Mabel McCulloch. She was the oldest of three children and the last to pass away. June wa s raised in Minneapolis where she graduated from West High School in 1939. She attended the University of Minnesota as a music major where she met her future husband in 1942. She then suspended her schooling to raise five children. June returned to the Uni versity over the next two decades to complete her education while still raising children as a single mother and working full time. This remarkable pursuit was the subject of a Minneapolis Sunday Tribune article in 1962. She finally graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with a minor in Psychology. She later attended the Wharton Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently received her master's degree in Psychology from Mankato State University. June moved to the San Francisco bay area of California in 1971 where she worked for the State of California for 16 years as an employment counselor at the Employment Development Department and helped many people with her unique wisdom and comp assion. She was also active in the California State Employees Association serving as a job steward, chapter president, and president of the president's caucus. June retired in May 1987 and moved to Irvine, California in 1997 to be close to her family. She finally moved to an assisted living facility in Torrance, California in 2013 where she remained until her passing. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Legion Auxiliary. June started violin lessons at the age of fi ve, attended the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, and played in the MacPhail Orchestra, the University of Minnesota Orchestra, and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. She was also an accomplished pianist and played for local bands. June loved skati ng and, as a child, was either practicing her violin or skating at local rinks. She won the State of Minnesota speed skating championship during high school and went on to the regional championships in Chicago. In retirement, she spent much of her time res earching her ancestral history and genealogy, but her real passion throughout life was her family, which she cherished above all else. She will be missed. June is preceded in death by her father Paul McCulloch, mother Mabel McCulloch, sister Audrey Harder and brother Allan McCulloch. She is survived by her five children, Bill Burns, Susan Marriott, Mike Burns, Tom Burns and Mary Kelm; eight grandchildren, Chris Burns, Jay Burns, Soleil Marriott, Jessica Rappel, Mark Burns, Jake Kelm, Sara Burns, and Haley Burns; twelve great grandchildren; a nephew; two nieces; and a sister-in-law. A memorial service and a celebration of life will be scheduled later at Lakewood Cemetery when family can be together. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Daughters of the American Revolution. Published on January 24, 2021