June Dereske
My earliest memory of June Dereske is of living in her house for several months, while my mother was recovering from a number of problems, including cancer surgery. As my grandmother, she took my sisters and I in and, for that short time, raised us as her own. It was the one and only period of sanity in my childhood. For that, if nothing else, I was always thankful for my grandmother. Years later, when my mother finally left my father, my grandmother once again took us in, helped us find a place to live, and gave us - my mother, my sisters, and myself - an anchor to sanity amid the sheer lunacy of the divorce war.
June Dereske was an artistic woman, who loved to cook, garden, and create pottery. She was also a devout woman, who took an active role in the laity of St. Mary's church in Custer, Michigan. She raised five children of her own (one of whom grew up to become a successful author), and still managed to find room in her home for myself and my sisters. I never have been able to figure out where she got all the resources it took to manage everything she did, but I am grateful that she did.
June Dereske was the anchor to sanity of my childhood. Without her, I'm sure that I would have turned out to be something far less stable and sane than I am now - if I survived at all.
William G. Hartwell
