In Remembrance

June Kortes LaPine, 91, of Duluth went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 4^th, 2019.

June was born June Elizabeth Kortes April 25^th, 1927 in Virginia, Minnesota to Matthew and Inga Kortes. She graduated from Virginia’s Roosevelt High School in 1944 and entered the labor force as a switchboard operator for Northwestern Bell. On June 19, 1948 she married Robert Lapinoja of Eveleth, Minnesota and enjoyed marriage with him for sixty-eight years.

As a wife and mother June sacrificed any dream she possessed for herself in order that she could assist in fulfilling the dreams of her husband, children, and grandchildren. June was always involved in her family’s endeavors. Whether it was helping Bob run for political office, or being a den mother for her boys’ cub scouts, June volunteered wherever she was needed. She was very active in her community and in her church throughout her life. One could find her either in the kitchen, classroom, or nursery serving her church, or one could locate her helping with a blood drive, running a concession stand, or organizing a neighborhood outreach for the March of Dimes. June excelled in hospitality and Bible education. Every day she started the day in prayer and Bible study. Throughout her life she read ten chapters of the Bible every day faithfully and then would spend time in prayer for her family, for her missionaries, and for anyone else she knew who had special needs. Her biggest fault was that she gave away almost every gift she ever received to meet the needs of others. Yet, somehow God continued to give her more so she could give away more.

At school functions June was a long standing member of the PTA and was often a mainstay at school fairs and fund raisers. She was the mom of the neighborhood. June was a popular Bible teacher with Community Bible Studies for over a decade, and she enjoyed also serving as a pastor’s wife in her sixties at the Evangelical Free Church in Wright, Minnesota where Robert served that charge after retiring from the telephone company.

June’s greatest joy was teaching children. She not only taught her own children and the children of the church, but she would bring children from off the street into her classrooms. Many Sundays Robert and June would take these children out to eat, bring them to their cabin to fish, or enjoy shopping for toys and needs for them. She will always be remembered as a sacrificial giver, an excellent cook, a clean housekeeper, a tireless gardener, an avid fisherwoman, a sharp-eyed bird hunter, and a dynamic story teller. June’s greatest character traits were her bold witness for Jesus Christ and her heart breaking compassion for others as developed through her daily discipline of praying for people. She knew it was more important to talk to God about people than it was to talk to people about God (even though she did both). Through her prayers, she held the family together. June was considered by every family member the second most important person in the LaPine family behind only Jesus Christ.

June is preceded in death by; her husband, Robert John Lapinoja (later LaPine); her parents, Matt and Inga Kortes; her brothers, Howard, Bert, and Clarence (Tadda) Kortes; and her sister, Verna Peitso.

She is survived by; her sister, Delores (Ralph) Anderson of Union City, Georgia; her sister-in-law, Ruth (Charles) Sickel of Eveleth, Minnesota; her sons, Kerry (Nancy) LaPine of Vashon, Washington; Robert Jr. (Nancy) LaPine of Gilberts, Illinois; Dwight (Peggy) LaPine of Byron, Minnesota; Richard (Lynda) LaPine of Superior, Wisconsin, Jeremy (Carrie) LaPine of Palm Harbor, FL; and her daughter, Janelle (Robert) Farnham of Temple, TX; twenty-two grandchildren; fifty-one great grandchildren; and adopted granddaughter Debra (Michael) Skog.

The family would like to thank all the staff of Edgewood Vista and of Viewcrest Health Care Centers for their great care for their mother. She loved all of you, and from what the family observed you loved her as well. The family would also like to thank all the staff at Essentia Hospital of Duluth who played a role in allowing June to have a reasonably comfortable exit from this world. You were ever so kind to us, and we admittedly realize we will never be able to repay the kindness with which you so loved upon us and our mother.

Funeral services will be 2:00 pm, Saturday March 23, 2019 at Lakeview Covenant Church, 1001 Jean Duluth Rd, Duluth, with visitation at 1:00 pm and burial at Park Hill Cemetery, arrangements are by Affordable Cremation & Burial.