June Lake

June M. Lake, age 99, died on November 22, 2020 in Duluth. June Margaret Terese Bergman was born to Theodore and Edna (Munson) Bergman at Swedish Hospital, Minneapolis, on June 15, 1921, 301 days after the 19th Amendment had been ratified. She graduated from Central High School in 1939 and attended the University of Minnesota in dental hygiene. On September 14, 1940, she wed Clarence Vernon Lake, who was studying for the ministry, at First Baptist Church, Minneapolis. She was an unorthodox pastor’s wife: To some congregants’ dismay, neither she nor her husband put much stock in St. Paul’s earthly injunctions to women. She sold her handmade jewelry door-to-door to help make ends meet. She went to work as the receptionist at U.S. Bank, Southdale (then First Southdale National Bank), Edina; a series of advancements culminated in the position of Personal Banker, which she held until her retirement in 1983. Having opened accounts for the likes of Fran Tarkenton and Harmon Killebrew, she was an avid Vikings and Twins fan. Active in the American Business Women’s Association--at whose meetings she came to appreciate daiquiris--she served as President of the Twin Cities chapter. She loved boating on Lake Minnetonka, pedaling with her husband throughout the metro area on their tandem bicycle, her many dogs and cats, song and dance, style and fashion, and shopping. And she loved the North Shore, which she first visited as a child in the 1920s. For many years, she vacationed at the family cabin, making jewelry and trouncing her children at canasta. She moved to Duluth in 2007 and treasured a view of her beloved Lake Superior until the end. Her determination sustained her until she could exercise her right to help make America sane again. She was preceded in death by her adoring husband. She is survived by daughter Judith A. Sheriff (Timothy), Duluth; son Randall A. Lake (Colleen Keough), South Pasadena, California; granddaughter Janna, Minneapolis; grandson Brandon, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and great-grandchildren Genna, Gavin, and Graci. Private interment, Lebanon Cemetery, Apple Valley. Memorials to the Ecumen Lakeshore Memorial Fund, 4002 London Rd., Duluth, MN 55804, or Animal Allies Humane Society, 4006 Airport Rd., Duluth, MN 55811, https://www.animalallies.net/give.  Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home, Duluth, 218-727-3555.