June Elaine Huggins

June Elaine Junikon was born in East Chicago, Indiana on October 1st, 1952 to Robert and Bernice Junikon. June was always a quiet and thoughtful child. She proved to have a temperament beyond her years. She was big sister to Jewel, Judy, and Jerelyn. She gave her life to Christ at an early age and was baptized in Ebenezer Baptist Church in East Chicago, Indiana. It was there that as a teenager she became part of the gospel singing group The New Spiritualettes which was made up of her cousin and friends and led by her uncle. June went on to graduate from East Chicago Roosevelt High School in 1970 where she was Homecoming Queen runner-up. She matriculated to Indiana University Bloomington as one of the first Groups Program attendees. It was at IUB that she pledged Delta Sigma Theta…The very next semester she pledged her heart to Steven Huggins in 1972, after meeting in the breezeway at Briscoe Hall. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1974. She remained at Indiana University and achieved her Masters in College Student Personnel Administration. June worked in Higher Education for over 43 years. She spent 1 year at Purdue Calumet and then received a position in Student Counseling at the University of Louisville and served in the role for 17 years. She and Steven were married in 1977. To their union, the Lord blessed them with 3 children, Jason, Jihan, and Jessica. In 1994 June took a yearlong sabbatical to concentrate on her family, and deepen her relationship with the Lord. In 1995, she transitioned to a position as Director of the Center for Mentoring which was a new program at Indiana University Southeast. In this role she touched lives of students at the middle, high school, and college level. At age 50 she earned a second Master’s Degree in Counseling and Guidance. June retired after 25 years in her role at Indiana University Southeast in 2021. Over her career, she was successful in engaging students, faculty, staff and thousands of students. The impact she had on the decision for people to go to college AND graduate is tremendous and her legacy lives on. Some of her campus and community involvement include: Indiana University Southeast Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Diversity Indiana University Southeast School of Education Guidance and Counseling Advisory Board Community Foundation of Southern Indiana Board of Director Women’s Foundation of Southern Indiana Advisory Board President Board of Directors for the Center of Women and Families She has received various awards including: Charlie Nelms Indiana University Alumni Award Indiana University Southeast Diversity Award Business and Professional Women, Woman of the Year Award Who’s Who Among Student in American Universities and Colleges Friends of Scribner Award June was a woman on fire for the Lord. She was a prayer warrior and ordained minister. She was a member of Zion Baptist Church for many years after moving to Louisville. She first ministered as head of Flame Fellowship in downtown New Albany. She was used to bring forth the word of God at Sabaoth International under Pastor Elaine Howard. She served as a minister at First Gethsemane Baptist Church under T. Vaughn Walker, and served at New Dimensions Christian church as assistant Pastor. Prior to her passing she was a proud member of Overcoming Church under Pastor Bruce Farr. She was great at comforting others, and always had a word of encouragement, scripture, and/or a hug (she gave great hugs) for anyone in need. June had other talents as well. She was an excellent cook. She enjoyed dressing well, and would even dress up on dress down Fridays. She had an eye for home décor and even opened up Junikon Interior Design company after her retirement. June was preceded in death by her father Robert Junikon, and sisters Jewel and Judy, and her nephew Deon. She leaves to mourn her passing her husband Steven Huggins, son Jason (Katie) Huggins, daughters Jessica and Jihan (Kenneth) Mayfield, mother Bernice Junikon, and sister Jerelyn (Robert) Melvin. She has 8 grandchildren Jaelynn, Ayden, Jenay, Journey, Genesis, Abel, Asher, and Amal who were all the apple of her eye. She also leaves behind a host of other family members and friends. Well Done, June! Visitation: 10am - 12:30pm Friday, June 9, 2023 at First Gethsemane Baptist Church, 1159 Algonquin Pkwy, funeral service to follow at 12:30pm. Burial: Calvary Cemetery.

June Elaine Huggins

October 1, 1952 - June 1, 2023