Greeted each day with words, ‘I love life’
NORTH READING — June Louise (Cousens) Storey, of North Reading, passed away on Thursday, November 21, 2024 surrounded by her loving family.
June was born in Woburn on October 17, 1936 to William Nevelle Cousens and Louise Mildred Bradshaw. She grew up in Waltham and Wellesley with her beloved grandmother, Emma Anderson Cousens (“Nanny”), who was her legal guardian from the time she was two.
June lived in Waltham until she was 12 along with her five cousin-brothers, Nicholas, Michael, Timothy, Christopher, and Geoffrey. She and Nanny moved to Wellesley and lived with her aunt, Olive Eleanor Isabella Cousens Holmes and her husband, Henry Wyman Holmes, Jr., and her cousin-sister Anne Wyman Holmes. She attended Wellesley schools and Northeastern University until 1958 when she married Chester William Storey of Everett.
June is the devoted mother of Deanna Lee Storey of Arlington, Wendy Ann Fitzpatrick and her late husband Kevin Fitzpatrick of Nottingham, New Hampshire, and Valerie Jean Storey of Nashua, New Hampshire. Her three girls were the loves of her life.
In 1976, June began a 33-year career at Harvard University and was the Director of Events for Alumni Affairs and Development. She was known for her unique perspective and ability to transform a space to create experiences tailored to individuals as well as institution-wide celebrations like the Harvard University 350th. She always said she had the privilege of seeing the world through the varied lenses of the many people she met in her role at Harvard, from students to world leaders and everyone in-between. Her real joy came from nurturing and teaching the people she worked with, and she invested much time and boundless energy in mentoring those who worked alongside her.
June was an avid sports fan throughout her life. She played field hockey and tennis, and she was a league candlepin bowler for many years. She loved to follow all the local Boston teams and never missed a game on TV. She loved animals, especially dogs, and she always had a treat at-the-ready should one cross her path. Some of her fondest memories were those of the summers she spent with her Peabody family cousins on their farm in New Brunswick, Canada where she continued to visit well into her 80s.
Never one to sit still for long, June worked at LL Bean in Burlington for 10 years post-retirement and thoroughly enjoyed her time with co-workers, customers, and the friends she made there. She loved her home in North Reading where she lived for over 60 years. She was passionate about her gardens and loved to sit on the back porch and watch the deer and other wildlife that came to visit her daily. She had many life-long friends and neighbors who she adored in North Reading and most recently served on the North Reading Transportation Committee to help seniors with transportation to and from medical appointments.
June lived every day to its fullest no matter the circumstances and she greeted each day with just three simple words, “I love life.”
Family and friends are cordially invited to visiting hours at the Cota Funeral Home, 335 Park St., North Reading on Monday, December 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon.
Following the visitation, a service will be celebrated for June at the funeral home at 12 noon.
Interment will follow in Riverside Cemetery, North Reading.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in June’s memory to: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of June Cousens Storey to support cancer research and patient care at:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via dana-farber.org/gift or MSPCA/Angell.
For information, directions and to leave an online condolence, please visit www.cotafuneral.com.
