Uncrowned Community Builders

June A. Earle was born June Banks in Buffalo, New York on May 1, 1923. She was a graduate of Fosdick Masten High School. She attended Livingston College in North Carolina and the University at Buffalo.

Mrs. Earle helped implement the Head Start program in Buffalo and later served as an aide at Schools 74, Lafayette High School and School 84. Known to many youngsters as Aunt June, she taught them how to make oatmeal cookies and how to whip up pancakes from scratch. She also showed them how to crochet and knit and read them stories, using different voices for each character.

Earlier, with her mastery of shorthand, she worked as a secretary for Dr. Lydia T. Wright and her husband, Dr. Frank G. Evans, as well as other business and professional people. She was a former secretary for the Buffalo branch of the NAACP and was a member of the Urban League, the Women's Auxiliary of the Postal Alliance and various parents groups at her children's schools.

A longtime member of Naomi Chapter 10, Prince Hall Order of Eastern Star, she was a past Worthy Matron and a secretary for many years.

At St. Philip's Episcopal Church, she served as a Sunday school teacher and was a member of the Altar Gild and the Episcopal Church Women. She was a former member of St. Luke AME Zion Church and Durham Memorial AME Zion Church. She enjoyed traveling with her family, playing board games and solving crossword puzzles.

She was married for 37 years to Joseph T. Earle, who died in 1983. The couple had three daughters, Janice Fisher, Joanne Potter and Jennifer Strickland and a son, Dean. They also had seven grandchildren and nine great grand-children.

Mrs. Earle is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.