Born May 18, 2015
New Haven, Connecticut
Died July 19, 2024
Bennington, Vermont
Details of services
A private family funeral is planned for the Tendai Buddhist Institute of East Chatham, NY. In addition, a public memorial service will be held at the Second Congregational Church in Bennington at 1:00 PM on Sunday, August 4. All members of the community, which has supported and cared for June’s family in their darkest hours with profound love, light, and care, are gratefully invited to attend.
June Cooper, 9, of Pownal, Vermont, passed away on July 19, 2024, at Southwestern Vermont Health Care in Bennington, Vermont after a tragic accident earlier that day.
June was born on May 18, 2015 in New Haven, Connecticut, the first child of Jonathan and Katharine (Gehron) Cooper. June moved with her family to the Bennington area in 2016 and lived out her days among the mountains, streams, meadows, animals, and neighborhoods of southwestern Vermont.
In her nine years, June brought joy, warmth, kindness, love, compassion, and felicity to nearly every facet of her truly complete life. She possessed a strong sense of justice; a deep disdain for unfairness; an inner wellspring of perseverance; a genuine love of fashion with a delightful personal style; and a constant curiosity about the world and its challenges. This curiosity was nurtured by her teachers at the Bennington Early Childhood Center and the Pine Cobble School, and, most of all, by her beloved mother. It was with Mama that she would look through design magazines and lookbooks on Saturday mornings, walk down Cedar Hill Road in the spring sun while discussing the important differences between erosion and weathering, and talk quietly in the evening about the divisions in the world and how to heal them. It was with Daddy that she would be slowly roused from her slumber, with a slight smile on her face as she snuggled her way into a new day, and sent on her way with nose-bumps and nose-fuzzles.
She built a deeply loving bond with her sister, Iris, with whom she invented games, picked fruits and flowers, developed alter-egos, choreographed dances, formed bands, read stories, sang songs, built forts, watched hummingbirds, brushed teeth, and, in their words, “shimmied in the moonlight.”
June was dedicated to her pursuits outside of school, directing her efforts toward horseback riding, swimming, and playing the piano. She trusted and admired her coaches and teachers, among them Tara Lowary of Rhythm Hollow Stables, Matthew Edwards of the Second Congregational Church, and Renette Gonzalez of the Bennington Marauders. She did her best in the ring, during recitals, and at swim meets, with the determination to get back on the horse that threw her, to play past her mistakes in performance, and to see if she could make the next time in the pool faster than her last.
With her own marvelous personality, June made friends quickly and easily. Together they explored their corner of the world, and invented new worlds to add energy and excitement to this one.
In addition to her grieving parents and her sister, June is survived by adoring grandparents Patricia and Peter Cooper of Needham, MA, and Jane and Barry Gehron of Wakefield, MA. She also leaves behind her Uncle Craig and Aunt Ronni Gehron of Williamsburg, VA and their children Nicholas, Alexander, and Lillian; her Auntie Stacia Bowley and Uncle Will Fiveash of Austin, TX and their children Phoebe and Elliot. She was predeceased by her great-grandparents A. William and LaVera Gehron of Williamsport, PA. She was treasured by great uncles and great aunts across the country, and a wider extended family that is also grieving. June will soon be playing with her deceased cats Cricket and Frida once again, but she is missed by her cats Luna and Poppy, her dog Sable, and Snapdragon the leopard gecko.
The family wishes to acknowledge the compassionate efforts of first responders from the Bennington Rescue Squad, the Bennington Police Department, and the North Bennington Fire Department, as well as the Emergency Room team at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. The family is also deeply grateful to the community at the School of Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales, which she was excited to join in the fall and which has held this loss as their own. Dear friends who have set up web pages for a meal train and a gofundme are greatly appreciated. Finally, the family wishes to acknowledge Tom Lloyd and the staff at Hanson, Walbridge, and Shea Funeral Home for their caring assistance.
Read the story on VTDigger here: June Violet Cooper.