June Delpha Baker passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 3, 2022, of natural causes. June retained her strength, humor, and relentless positivity until the end of her 102 (almost 103) years of life.
June was born to Merrill Babcock and Winifred (Gratz) Babcock on June 12, 1919, in Knowlton, MT where the Babcocks were homesteaders. June went to high school in Miles City where she worked in a grocery store and cleaned houses for funds. She also did all the hair of all of her friends for 15 cents a hairdo!
June had a personal strength and a decisiveness that combined with an independent spirit led her to a lifetime of achievement. She graduated from Townsend Beauty School in Billings never missing a day of school. June's Beauty Shop in Miles City was opened on December 27, 1940, which eventually became June's Beauty Land where she operated for 55 years. She became an instructor and opened up Miles City College of Beauty that trained hundreds of young people over decades.
The shop, however, was in an area that had few parking spaces, so she continually parked on Miles City Main Street racking up lots of tickets, hence, she became acquainted with the Chief of Police Riley Baker. Riley Baker had a son named Bob. At first, Bob claimed a friendship with June's friend, but as any good love story will progress, Bob started walking out with June. She smiled when telling this story and said, "He laughed a lot, and he was comfortable, safe, and had such a good sense of humor...only bad habit was he walked so fast! Come back and stay by me I told him."
They were married for 56 years.Bob Baker passed in 2000, but now they are together again for the first time in over 22 years. They had one son, Lynn Baker, born January 11, 1946. Lynn, currently an attorney in Great Falls, MT, who married Imogene Derden in 1967. They had three children, Channing Treavor (Gail) of Boise, Idaho; TeTe Chanelle (Joe) Mazzacanno of Buckeye, Arizona; and Cory Justin Lewis (Janna) Baker of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Lynn and Imogene later divorced, and Lynn married Sandra C. Erickson.
June achieved her goal of achievement and guiding her own life. She took an interest in hypnosis where she focused on the use of the mind to better the circumstances of life. She would instruct family and friends to "let go of the stuff that is negative because it isn't important, and to stay true to the positive that is important to you."
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
