June Sonquist King

June Sonquist King

Sarasota, Fla.

June King passed peacefully on Sept. 27, 2023, in Sarasota, Fla., at age 92. Throughout her life, she dove deeply and intellectually into her passions and very easily made friends.

June was, at her core, a teacher. She began a career in 1953 at Johnson Elementary School in Cedar Rapids that spanned 40 years, inspiring thousands of 5th and 6th graders to be curious as they explored science. She supplemented her teaching income with summer swim lessons. June also earned the rank of American Contract Bridge League Life Master, and she also taught bridge.

In 1952 she met Don King while she was working at Blank’s Drug Store in her hometown of Garner, Iowa. He became the love of her life. A year later she assumed one of the titles she relished most during their 68 years of marriage: Coach’s Wife. Don coached basketball teams in Iowa and Minnesota, coaching the final 27 years at Washington High School. His teams won more than 500 games including the Iowa State Championship in 1969. June, rarely missing a game, sported the school colors and cheered every point. Her love for Don even enabled her to see the wisdom of pouring asphalt over the back yard and installing a basketball court.

June Sonquist King was born to Edith and Ray Sonquist on June 23, 1931, the third of six children. She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education at Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI); later she earned an M.A. degree from the University of Iowa.

Over her lifetime she belonged to numerous bridge clubs, book clubs, and dinner clubs. She studied bridge magazines for strategies and tips, once flying from Florida to Hawaii with those publications as her only in-flight entertainment. She golfed, played tennis, and competed ferociously in family bocce games. June managed a modest stock portfolio that brought her joy, as did discussing those investments with a club of women she helped to start. Stock appreciation enabled her to give tax-advantaged gifts to her favorite organizations: University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church where, of course, she taught Sunday School.

June loved spending time with her husband, her family and her many friends. Her screened-in porch on Fifth Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids was her favorite place to attend a party. They retired to Longboat Key, Fla., in 2017. Don passed in 2022.

She is survived by two children, Bob King (Tammy) and Joan Salwen (Kevin), eight grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and one son, Tom.

A family service was held in Sarasota.

Memorials can be directed to The University of Northern Iowa June King Endowed Scholarship and to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.