June was born November 18, 1928 to Emil and Margaret (Reagle) Sauerwein in Valentine. Mother Margaret was called home to the Lord on November 28, 1928, leaving Emil with a baby, a one year old sister, and four other siblings. So Margaret’s brother Floyd Reagle and wife Ethelena took June into their home in Todd County, SD. She was baptized June Katherine on December 1, 1928 in Crookston.
June, attended grade school and two years of high school in Todd County, continuing her education in O’Neill, where she graduated in 1945. After graduation, she taught school in South Dakota and Cherry County. During the summer she worked for the 5 & 10 Cent store in Valentine where she met her lifelong friend and future sister-in-law Ferne Schubauer.
June married George Dean Schmidt, Easter Sunday, March 28, 1948, at Calvary Lutheran near Olsonville, SD. They moved to the Sandhills residing on the LC and Sadie Beel Ranch near Kennedy, for 11 years, until 1959, when they moved their family to the current ranch home in Todd County, SD. June was a partner with her husband in all phases of ranch work, including dairy, beef, and working in the hay field.
She was also a substitute teacher until she took the job of driving school bus for the Todd County School District. June had a very special way of touching the lives of everyone she met. In 1984, on behalf of the South Dakota Association of Elementary Principals, she was presented the Friends of Education award for dedication and contribution to elementary education. She drove bus for many trips to school, special activities and ballgames. She retired after driving bus for 33 years with over a million miles accident free. Among other things, June loved playing cards and country music. She and numerous friends would often enjoy a Saturday afternoon dancing in area communities.
She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. She and Dean were blessed with a large family, including son, Howard and Margie of rural Valentine, son, Duane and Brenda of Winner, SD, son, Nolan and Lori of Waupun, WI, daughter, Colleen Kalblinger of Valentine, daughter, Lila and Russ Brown of Dalton, WI, daughter, Yola and Dan Beekman of Eagan, MN, son, Neil of Inverness, FL, daughter, Cindy and Tony Rish of Denmark, WI, 22 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, and two greatgreat grandchildren.
June and Dean spent 58 years together until Dean was called to his eternal home in 2006. June continued to live in their home until her death on October 11, 2024. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, Floyd and Albert; sisters, Eleanor, Dorothy, Cleo, and Lucille; grandson, Baby Beekman and great-grandchild, Brycen Schmidt.
A funeral service for June Schmidt of Valentine was held Saturday, October 19 at 1:00 p.m. at the Cherry County Fairgrounds, 4-H building in Valentine. The burial followed at Mount Hope Cemetery in Valentine.
A visitation was held Friday, October 18 at Sandoz Chapel of the Pines in Valentine. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Grace Lutheran School in Valentine or the Mount Hope Cemetery in Valentine.
Sandoz Chapel of the Pines in Valentine was in charge of the service arrangements.
