"So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." John 16:22

Rozella June McCracken, 78, of Sanger, California, passed away unexpectedly on April 18, 2023.

June was born on June 10, 1944, the sixth of eight children born to Herbert and Lavon Henson. The Henson family moved to Sanger from Missouri in 1941, settling in Tivy Valley. June was the first of their children to be born in California and the first to be born in a hospital. She grew up in Tivy Valley, attending Tivy Union School before graduating from Sanger High School in 1962.

June met Jim McCracken in 1972 after Jim's friend, Doug Wilson, told Jim he needed to go get his teeth cleaned at Doug's dentist so he could meet the beautiful dental assistant that worked there. Jim invited June on a motorcycle ride and sent her flowers the next day with a card that said, "I enjoyed being with you - not the bugs. Would like to take another ride with you (in a car). Let me know if and when." The rest, as they say, is history. Jim and June just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in February, and Jim says meeting "his Junee" was the best thing to ever happen to him. "Everything good I ever did was because of her," he says.

Over the years, June started and ran several small businesses, including Sanger Bicycles in downtown Sanger that she ran with her son, John, in the early 1990s. June's outgoing and playful personality left an impact on her customers, as many still remember and talk about her decades later.

June loved giving back to her community. She attended Centerville Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years. She also helped organize toy drives at Christmas, purchasing and distributing many gifts herself to Centerville children. One of her greatest joys, though, was hosting an annual community potluck every year following the Tivy Valley Easter parade. June loved having families from all over the community gather to eat, drink and be merry together. It was an event everyone looked forward to.

Above all, June was fun. Whether it was family camping trips, backyard parties, or just marathon Skipbo tournaments, June loved to play. She was always looking for someone to " get in trouble with." She was one of a kind, the life of the party, the instigator, and we will miss her sense of humor and playfulness.

June was predeceased by her parents Herbert and Lavon Henson, and her siblings Aundra, Ron, Mary, William, Stuart and Delmer. She is survived by her husband, Jim McCracken; daughter Stephenie Gustine; daughter and son-in-law Melissa and Bryon Abshire; son and daughter-in-law John and Vanessa McCracken; grandchildren Katelyn and Colton Abshire; sister, Cindy Cook; daughters Alisha and Jennifer McCracken and son Robert McCracken.

A Celebration of Life will be held at June's childhood home, now the Tivy Valley Friendship Farm (21249 E Weldon Ave, Sanger, CA 93657), on June 4, 2023 at 11 am. Please bring your favorite memories and funniest stories of June to share with us. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Tivy Valley Friendship Farm, a 501c non-profit organization started by June's niece, Nancy Daddino. tivyvalleyfriendshipfarm.org