June Elizabeth Clendaniel

June Elizabeth Clendaniel died December 20, 2023, in Walla Walla, WA, at age 91.

She was born November 30, 1932, in Newberg, OR, to parents Evangeline Booth Branson and Harmon James Branson. She excelled in classes at Newberg High School and Walla Walla High School before meeting the love of her life, Frank Sanford Clendaniel, during a church service. They were married on August 7, 1949, in Newberg and lived the rest of their lives in Walla Walla. June and Frank celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary in 2006 before Frank died on June 9, 2007.

June embraced her role as a homemaker, raising four sons with all the love she could muster. The Clendaniel home was the gathering place for a neighborhood filled with young families. She routinely baked four dozen cookies and made pitchers full of red juice every week for visitors to consume. And then there was the legendary All-Star baseball game of 1966. The black and white TV was having reception problems, to the consternation of the boys crowding the living room. So, June took hold of the “rabbit ears” until she found a spot where the reception was clear – and held them for the rest of the game – only putting them down for commercials between innings.

June didn’t just focus on facilitating neighborhood gatherings and backyard games. She was equally serious about giving her children every educational opportunity available.

Although she didn’t graduate from high school, she was a voracious reader – as anyone who tried to match wits with her discovered when “Jeopardy” was airing. Who needed Google when June was available? Her mother-in-law, Adna Clendaniel, and her sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Bowerman, were known to say, “Ask June, she knows,” whenever a factual question arose. In her younger years, June often dreamed of being a librarian. Instead, June and Frank turned their home into a mini library, with bookshelves holding several thousand books of all genres.

For the better part of 20 years, she ran a daycare center in her home, putting her child-raising expertise to good use for the benefit of more than a dozen children.

She was also the consummate grandmother and great-grandmother, staying in touch with her grandchildren by learning how to text and use email, Facebook, and Instagram to celebrate their accomplishments and support them during their challenges. One of her special gifts was making every one of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren feel like they were equally loved.

Following Frank’s retirement and June’s closing down her daycare operation, they traveled throughout the West, a dozen states and following through on one of June’s favorite endeavors, asking, “I wonder where that road goes,” and turning off and following it until they had a firm answer to the question – and learning far more about the area than one could by merely driving through on the freeway.

June’s love of family extended to her sisters and their families. She would have laughed at the notion that she was a “hip” grandmother, but she used social media daily to communicate with family members scattered throughout the West. Every year, her sisters would meet in Walla Walla and drive to the Oregon Coast for a few days of adventure, laughter, and reconnecting.

June is survived by three sons, Richard Clendaniel (Carolyn) of Anchorage, AK, Ed Clendaniel (Barbara Metzler) of San Jose, CA, and Bob Clendaniel (Jodi) of College Place, WA; nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and four sisters, Alice Williams of Jerome, ID, Anna Hutchens Burdick of Reno, NV, Clara Reedy of Spokane, WA, and Marti Cooper of Boise, ID. Her husband, Frank Clendaniel Jr., and her son, David Clendaniel, preceded her in death.

A celebration of life will be held on March 8, 2024, at 11:30 AM at the Chapel of the Herring Funeral Home in Walla Walla.

Contributions may be made to the Walla Walla Public Library or the Pioneer Park Aviary through the Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder St., Walla Walla, WA 99362. In addition, friends and family are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.herringgroseclose.com.