SCHAFER, JUNE (JOSLIN)

June Schafer, 89, passed away at home in Hamden, CT on June 30, 2020. June was born March 13, 1931 in Wichita, KS to George and Gaynell Joslin. That day she met David E. Schafer (an older man by five days) in the Wesley Hospital nursery and proclaimed, “blue booties - that’s for me.” 14 years later they met again when June sang soprano in the West Side Baptist church and David played the organ. At 16 they organized a chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Wichita with the help of Bayard Rustin. After they married on September 17, 1949, they would delight their friends and family with a raucous rendition of “Ball and Chain” for the next nearly 71 years. In addition to her husband, June is survived by children Martin (Eileen Lufkin) of Minneapolis, MN, and Margaret (Ruth Slater) of Boston, MA, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her brother Stanley. June received a BS in education from the University of Minnesota and an MS in special education from Southern Connecticut State University. She had a passion for teaching and felt a special empathy for children that struggled with physical, mental and social challenges. In 1964, when her husband won a Fulbright for cholera research in Calcutta, India, she founded a school for the children of the US consulate that included scholarships for Bengali children. In Connecticut in 1985 she received the State Council on Vocational-Technical Education (SCOVE) Distinguished Service Award. She also received the Interfaith Cooperative Ministries’ Mustard Seed award for outstanding service to the community. June was also a founding member and past president of the Connecticut Humanist Association. A longtime member of the Unitarian Society of New Haven, she served as religious education director, youth advisor, and chair of the economic justice task force that created a partnership with the New Haven Waverly community. She was “Grandma June” and “Great Grandma June” to the many children of Waverly. June will always be remembered for her kindness, generosity, and embracing love. Unfortunately COVID-19 has delayed memorial planning. Contributions for Waverly in memory of June Schafer may be made to the Unitarian Society of New Haven, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden, CT 06517.