June L. Anderson

June L. Anderson, 77, of Newton died on Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, at her home at Park Centre.

A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home. The family will greet friends from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials to Progress Industries or the Jasper County Animal Rescue League may be left at the Wallace Family Funeral Home.

June, the daughter of “Cad-a-lac” Fred and Neva (Graves) Vespestad, was born on March 24, 1935 in Newton.  She graduated from Newton High School in 1954. June was a lifelong resident of Newton. On Nov. 11, 1955, she was united in marriage with Gordon “Jerry” Anderson in Newton. June volunteered as the only Humane Officer in Jasper County starting in the late 1950s for many years. In 1963, she began working for the Jasper County Center for Retarded Children, which changed to Future, Inc. in 1971 and later to Progress Industries. June retired from PI on June 1, 1998, as the Director of Transportation. June served on the Jasper County Animal Rescue League Board of Directors. She and Jerry enjoyed taking car rides in their antique cars along with going to car shows and swap meets. She dedicated her life to children and animals.  June and Jerry owned many pets throughout the years. Currently, they had a lab named Rocko.

Those left to honor June’s memory are her husband, Gordon “Jerry” Anderson of Newton; their chosen son, Alvin Collins of Newton; sister, Ione (Manual) Vasquez of Newton; her sister-in-law, Darlene Vespestad of Texas; nieces and nephews, Neva (Heidi) Grandstaff-Fresh of Newton, Juana (Dustin) McConnell of Newton, Manual C. (Nikki) Vasquez of Altoona and Dominic (Jamie) Vasquez of Newton; her great-nieces and nephews, Tyler, Derion, Deitrek, Dominic, Mireya, Jaleea, Isiah, Tayla, Nilaya, Dale, Darla and Faith; and her many other friends and relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Dale Vespestad; nephew, Fred Vespestad; and niece, Christine Sanders.