SierraScape March 2016 - August 2016
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by Diane Albright
Conservation Chair
Eastern Missouri Group
On December 6, 2015, our
Eastern Missouri Group
lost long-time outstanding member June Johnson Stevens.
She passed away at her farmhouse along the Castor River near
Marquand, Missouri. A graduate of Mizzou with an education
degree, she retired after thirty years of teaching science to
seventh grade students at Selvidge Middle School in Ballwin, MO.
Her interest in the values and goals of the Sierra Club seems to have evolved naturally. Raised on the family farm along the Mississippi River near the border of Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve Counties, she rode her horses in the surrounding woods and along the river bank. Not surprisingly, early in her life she rallied local opposition to the Rush Island Power Plant near her family's farm.
Later, without hesitation she stood up as a SC member whose childhood homestead would be impacted by Holcim, Inc. North America's largest limestone quarry and cement operation would border Johnson Road—yes, named after her family.
June was a participant in an array of SC activities: judging at the whitewater races, serving on EMG ExCom, serving as Outing Leader of canoe trip and outdoor skills classes, and helping at the office. Always an activist, she lent her energy, skill, and name to various issues on behalf of the Chapter, including being a to party the Ozark National Scenic Riverway lawsuit. Recently she had been helping organize SC meetings in the Cape Girardeau region.
In her spare time, June was a gardener, emphasizing orchids as well as native plants. She knowledgeably collected antiques, read with gusto both historical and classic literature, and traveled both in the USA and abroad. She had an interest in all things Native American, due partly to her own Native American ancestry.
Each of us who has enjoyed her company on canoe trips, on hikes, and around campfires has special reasons for missing her. But mine will be her humor when we were standing drenched in cold rain or bouncing off some river obstacle we had failed to notice.
A local memorial outing for June is being planned for this spring. If you would like to participate, phone me, Diane Albright: 314 729-7629.