Caroline ‘June’ Rathbun

 Our loving Mother, Caroline “June” Rathbun, passed quietly into the arms of Jesus on the evening of Oct. 4, 2025, with family by her side. She was 89 years old.

 June, the eldest of three daughters, was born to Fay W. Sneed and Elma E. Jackson Sneed, on June 3, 1936, in Weiser, Idaho. 

 Her father worked for Union Pacific and her family resided next to a railroad track for most of her childhood. Moving from Crane, Ore. early on, to Midvale, Idaho, they lived in a provided section house between the tracks and Highway 95. Mom always said that you could throw a cat through the walls, but it didn’t matter because the inside of the house was filled with love, laughter, and music. 

 From a young age, Mom played the piano to accompany her dad on his fiddle. Together they played for many dances and jam sessions.

 Mom graduated from Midvale High School in 1954. Later that year, she spent time in Seattle working as a nanny for her aunt. At one point, she visited an amusement park with a friend and there they met two soldiers on leave. Mom’s beauty caught the eye of the tall, dark-haired soldier, LaVerne “Vern” Rathbun. When he shipped off to Korea for a year, Mom waited for him. Upon his return, in May of 1955, they were married and remained so until Dad’s passing in April of 2024.

 Mom was always up for an adventure so to start their lives together the newlyweds moved to Dad’s home state of Montana, living along the Hi-Line. They soon followed a construction job to Florida, where they lived in a trailer home that they purchased and pulled there with their car. When the money ran out, they decided to return home to Idaho and start a family. 

 In 1958, they welcomed their first child, Carolyn Leslie. She was followed closely by LaVerne Edward, Jr. (Skip), who was born in the car in 1959, and finally, they thought, came Sandra Elaine in 1962. Much to their surprise, in 1968, came their youngest, Holly Jill.

 Family and home were everything to Mom; she could make any house she lived in a comfy, cozy, and loving home. She settled into doing just that. She loved cooking, gardening, canning, sewing, and raising kids. She could stretch a paycheck and a pound of hamburger as well as anyone. Mom was very creative and a talented interior decorator. She loved to find something inexpensive at a second-hand store and redo it to make it more beautiful than it was originally. She and Dad always had a project going and by the looks of Mom’s closets and Dad’s shop, they weren’t going to run out anytime soon.

 Amid those wonderful years, at the age of 16, Carrie was killed in a car accident. It was a devastating blow to our family, but Mom refused to let it take us down. Through the pain, Mom and Dad courageously carried our family forward. Mom was looking forward to the day she would be reunited with Carrie in heaven.

 Mom enjoyed traveling. Through the years, first with all the kids, and later just her and Dad, she enjoyed many road trips. She and dad also shared many camping adventures with family and close friends. She saw great value in taking some time to “get away from it all.” They were able to make a special trip to England and France in 1987 and, much later, to Mexico for a granddaughter’s graduation.

 Though she had a fiery, independent streak, Mom was a caretaker at heart. She loved her family unconditionally. From her own parents and siblings to her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, she was always there. She calmly and gently made a huge difference in the lives of those she loved. No matter what, she was there to support and offer her much needed wisdom –and she likely had a small box of home canned fruit or jam and a loaf of banana bread to send home with you as well.

 Mom is survived by her children, “Skip” (Dawn), Sandi White, and Holly Oyervides (Andres), 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, her sister, Donna Punzel, and two nieces, Kim and Shawna.

 She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Vern, her daughter Carrie, her son-in-law Jeff White, and her sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Bob Pierce, a nephew Greg Pierce.

 The family would like to thank The Cottages of Weiser, Horizon Hospice, and Dr. Lore Wootton for her patience and kindness to mom in her last years.

 A family memorial service was held on Oct. 18 in Weiser.