June R. Wilson (née Tickle – the name she used professionally) died on 13th November 2015, aged 86.
June was invited to join the St Helens Soroptimist Club in 1955 with the category of Solicitor. She made her mark quickly, becoming Club President in 1962, and went on to hold the offices of SI South Lancashire Regional President (1967-68), and Soroptimist International (G.B. & Ireland) Treasurer (1980-86).
June was Treasurer of Soroptimist International from 1987 to ’89, being installed at the SI Convention in Melbourne, Australia.
In recognition of her contribution to Soroptimism in these offices, South Lancashire Region made her an Honorary Member.
June gave great support to other Soroptimists, encouraging them to go further in Soroptimism than they thought they were capable of doing, and giving quiet advice when difficult situations arose in the Club. She was loving, caring, kind, generous, non-judgmental and determined – with a delicious sense of humour.
June achieved 60 years as a Soroptimist, and it was good that our Club’s two Presidents were able to visit her not long before she died and present her with the long-service certificate.
In her profession she and her sister set up, in 1953, the only all-female solicitor partnership in the country at that time. June was concerned about the well-being of her neighbourhoods: she worked on Meals on Wheels in Ormskirk, and jointly represented SI St Helens on the inaugural committee setting up Crossroads for Carers in St Helens in the 1980s.
June was taken ill at the regional meeting in September 2014. Despite increasing frailty, she remained ‘as sharp as a tack’ to the end.
She was the epitome of Soroptimism and will be greatly missed.
Alison F. Hall, SI St Helens