July 20, 1927 – January 28, 2024
Brewer – Alice June Brown, known best by friends and family as June, passed away on January 28, 2024. She was born July 20, 1927, in Brewer, ME, one of five children of Ernest Dewey Puffer and Gladys Mae (LeGuff) of South Brewer.
June was predeceased by her husband, Floyd Edwin Brown; siblings, Helen Geneva, Katherine Mary, and Sterling Dewey; and her son-in-law, Keith Owen Sanborn. Her youngest sister, Gladys currently resides in New-burgh, with her husband, Lledrew Hackett.
The daughter of a mill worker in Brewer, June enjoyed spending time with her siblings and friend Juanita playing on the banks of the Penobscot River. One of her favorite stories to share was when she, at the young age of 9, her sister, Katherine (age 12), and their friend, Juanita, took a rowboat out on the Penobscot River to cross over to Hampden, and had an extremely close encounter with the enormous Boston boat that made regular deliveries. While that was a favorite tale, she adored sharing many other treasured stories of what it was like to grow up in the Bangor area in the 1930s.
As a teenager, June also loved the Bangor Brewer dances, where she met her husband, Floyd Edwin Brown, a WWII Army hero and soon-to-be civil engineer from Hermon, ME, and graduate of the University of Maine, Orono. During his schooling, June and Floyd lived in Veazie, ME, with their first child, Natalie.
June and Floyd moved to Dartmouth, MA, in 1952, where they lived in a small trailer while Floyd built a house in Reading, MA. It was there they raised their three children. In those early years, no task was too challenging when it came to June providing for her family. When a massive hurricane hit in the early 1950s and Floyd was stranded on an oil rig, there was no power or communication for days. Not knowing the fate of her husband, June remained strong, providing hot meals and heat for her family through a single fireplace, crane, and cast-iron cooking pot.
After her husband, Floyd, died in 1979, June moved back a few years later to her beloved state of Maine with her son, Lance in 1984. She was very fond of the coast and during her time here in her later years lived in Belfast, Rockland, and Bangor. Her final residence was at the Harbor Hill Center in Belfast.
June is survived by her three children; three grandchildren, and their families. Her daughter, Natalie Sanborn resides in Saco, ME, and has two children. Natalie’s son, Douglas Sanborn lives in Casco, ME, with his wife, Lyndsay, and their children, Leon and Ruby. Natalie’s daughter, Karen Sanborn lives with her daughters, Carolyn and Brianna, in Brewer, ME. Her younger daughter, Linda Reynolds resides in Prospect, ME, with her husband, Alfred “Sandy” Reynolds. Linda’s daughter, Genevieve Reynolds lives in Weymouth, MA, with her partner, Daniel Higgs. June’s son, Lance, resides in Lewiston, ME.
A graveside service for June will take place on 2 p.m. Friday, May 3, 2024, at Woodlawn Cemetery in North Brewer. Those wishing to remember June may donate to the Eastern Area Agency Meals on Wheels program, 240 State Street, Brewer, ME 04412, or the Good Shepherd Food Bank, 11 Penobscot Meadow Dr., Hampden, ME 04444. Arrangements by Kiley & Foley Funeral Service, Bangor and Brewer. Messages and memories may be shared with her family on the tribute wall of
kileyandfoley.com.
