June Wood

June Forsythe Wood 1932 – 2025 A woman who lived life on her terms, leaving behind a legacy of love, laughter, and a trail of inspiration for those lucky enough to have known her. June Forsythe Wood, 92, died in her apartment at American House, an assisted-living facility in Keene, NH, following a gradual decline, on January 13, 2025, with her daughter Jerelyn Wilson at her side. Prior to her move to Keene in early-2024, she had lived for about 30 years in Venice, Florida. June’s remarkable life began in Rochester, New York, with parents Clifton “Bucky” and Helen (Wetzel) Forsythe. Adventurous and outgoing, June was no-doubt a challenging child to raise. She graduated high school and attended Marjorie Webster Junior College in Washington, DC and Syracuse University. In reflecting on life, June said her father was one of the best human beings she had ever known. “Be honest with yourself. Think about your faults and don’t let too many things be so serious,” is how we could all be more like Bucky, she said. On a cross-country road trip with girlfriends as a 20-year-old, she met her future husband, Robert (Bob) Everett, whom she married in 1954, when she was living in New York City—working first for Time Magazine and then Dunn & Bradstreet. They moved to Syracuse and then Skaneateles, New York, where Bob worked for GE. June’s three children, Jerelyn, Clifton, and Nancy, were born in Skaneateles. Following divorce, she and her children moved back to Syracuse, where she managed single-parenting of three children while establishing her professional path. Throughout her varied career, June always put family first, even with demanding positions. In 1965, June married Frank O’Neill and worked at several office-manager jobs while raising her family, which expanded with stepchildren from her second marriage. Bob, meanwhile, had moved to Argentina with GE, and for Christmas break each year, June would put her three kids on a plane for the 12-hour flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina—with her oldest daughter in charge of the younger two. As a mother, June fostered responsibility and a can-do attitude in her children that has remained with them throughout their lives. She also modeled free-thinking and progressive values—taking them to demonstrations and volunteering for political campaigns. In 1968, the family moved to Wayne, PA, where June commuted into Philadelphia, then they moved to Mountain Lakes, NJ, where she commuted into New York City. Her work at Wheelabrator Frye led to a move to the Washington, DC area, when the company opened a lobbying office there. Following divorce from Frank in 1974, June worked for a while for William Simon, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury in the Ford Administration, then landed at Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, where she worked for 18 years as assistant to the president, Irvin Feld, and then his son, Kenneth Feld. She felt very much a part of their family. In that role, she would troubleshoot everything from scrambling to find emergency housing when the entire Romanian tumbling team defected while on tour with the Circus, to dealing with the theft of Siegfried & Roy’s white tigers in an unmarked truck in Manhattan. A quick thinker and highly competent manager, June was perfect in that role—where she never knew what the day would hold! In 1990, June moved to Venice, Florida, where Ringling held its Winter Quarters, rehearsing new circus acts. Her children and grandchildren remember the excitement of watching those performers practicing new acts, and being introduced to circus animals by world-renowned animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams. Always a bit of a renegade, June became involved with Grandmothers for Peace while living in Venice, and in 1997 she was arrested at a demonstration over the launch of NASA’s plutonium-powered Cassini space probe. June traveled extensively in Europe and to such exotic places as Mongolia, the Galapagos, and Venezuela’s Angel Falls. She was a lover of art, and her home became a gallery of her travels, adorned with her own paintings and collected artwork from abroad. But mostly, June was a nurturing mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to her family—and a phenomenal role model. Her sense of humor and irreverence were hallmarks of the dynamic and engaging woman with whom everyone loved to spend time. She was famous for her Thanksgiving dinners when living in Washington, DC, Vienna, Virginia, and Venice, Florida—where her home, with spectacular grapefruit, avocado and calamondin trees, was known as Casa de Junio. During the last year of her life, she moved up to Keene to be closer to family in the Brattleboro area. June outlived all of her husbands and partners, as well as her beloved daughter, Nancy, who died in 2000 in Hawaii. She is survived by her daughter Jerelyn Wilson (and husband Alex) in Dummerston, Vermont; son Clif (and partner Melody) living on a boat and currently moored in Fiji; son-in-law Stephen Hight in Pittsburg, Kansas; grandchildren Lillian, Frances, Kevin, Clif Jr., June Maria, and Mayon; and great-grandchildren Jack, Harrison, Deacon, and Myles. There will be a celebration of life, likely in Venice, Florida, at a date to be determined. Donations in June’s name can be made to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England or Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.