June Elizabeth Trowbridge was born August 20, 1931, at her family home in Austin, Minnesota. It was the early years of the Great Depression, when money and jobs were hard to come by. But from her perspective, June had all she needed, and family and neighborly love were abundant. Until age sixteen, June was raised by her two faith-centered parents as an only child. It was then that her sister, Grace, was born. Although June and Grace were many years apart in age--and seemingly polar opposites--their souls have always connected as one. In 1952, twenty-one-year-old June married her childhood sweetheart, Ken Summers.
As a military wife she traveled the world and beheld incredible sights. June raised three incredible and unique children: two sons, Doug and Jamie, and a daughter, Kristi. They have blessed her with four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren . . . her orchard continues to grow. June's family is a constant reminder of how truly blessed her life has been. The love and adoration they continually give her warm her heart and inspire her being. June has been through many life changes. She suffered the loss of her daddy, who was her Oak, and then her mother soon after. She buried her husband, Ken, who was a recovering alcoholic, after forty-two years of marriage. She struggles now with COPD. Yet June senses an inner strength and purpose, and that her time on this earthly plane is not done. She feels her life is a gift that she continues to unwrap until her New Chapter begins.
At eighty-three, June believes her poetic expression of life's experiences may be her greatest legacy. Her hope for readers is that they cherish the family ties that bind us all . . . through them our orchards grow. June resides in Fruitland Park, FL.
