June Rose Estes was born Dec. 21, 1930, to Glen and Gennie McHone, on Tahoe Ridge, near Kooskia. June was a second-generation Idahoan. Her grandparents came to the Kooskia area in the 1880s. June's mother was born on Tahoe Ridge. June's school life began at the Tahoe Ridge Country School until her eighth-grade year. She would ride her horse or walk to school from the farmhouse where she grew up. She attended Kooskia High School, boarding in town by then, and graduated in 1949. While in high school June played basketball. She attended the University of Idaho in Moscow for one year. In 1950, she married Elmer Kay Montgomery and the couple had four daughters, Anita, Holly, Connie, and Sara. The family lived on Sunset Drive in Lewiston until 1965 and then moved to Grangeville with Kay's work for the Idaho Department of Highways. June and Kay later divorced. June returned to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley in 1968 and continued raising her daughters. She worked at Valley Aeronautics and later for the Social Security Administration in Moscow and eventually Seattle. It was during this time she met her second husband, Robert Estes. They married in 1973. June and Bob moved to Mercer Island, near Seattle, where she had transferred with Social Security. She later worked for the U.S. Customs Service. The marriage brought two stepchildren into June's life, Donna Stark, currently of Puyallup, and Rick Estes of Seattle. June became interested in selling real estate and obtained a license. June and Bob moved back to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley from Mercer Island in 1980. Bob opened his business, City Motor Company, a vintage Ford parts shop on Sixth Street in Clarkston. June began her own business nearby, Parkview Real Estate. June and Bob chose to remain in Clarkston at least part-time through their retirement years, traveling south to Indio, Calif., during the winter months. Bob passed away from cancer in 1995. June met her partner Phil Crosby in the late 1990s, and the two began a friendship that has lasted until her death. Phil continues to reside at their home in Clarkston. June's many interests during her lifetime have included spending time with family and friends and traveling, including cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, and Australian and European ports. Phil and June enjoyed dancing together at the Moose and Elks lodges. In recent years, June became interested in painting and enjoyed taking art classes at Valley Art Center in Clarkston. Phil and June raised a nice summer garden, including "Grandma Hemphill's beans," which June's family has passed on for generations. June was preceded in death by her parents and her younger sister, Mary McHone Kornoely. Survivors include her partner, Phil Crosby; her four daughters, Anita and Randy Portrey of Spokane, Holly Montgomery of Missoula, Mont., Connie Montgomery of Seattle, and Sara and Scott Coy of Cheney, Wash.; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston. Lewiston Tribune Jan 8, 2011