June P. Berkenbush

June P. Berkenbush (nee Collins), age 92 of Pequannock died on March 25, 2021. She had lived in Pequannock since 1968.

June grew up in Clifton and graduated from Clifton High School with the class of 1941. Her early family life revolved around church and she reminisced about those times throughout all her years. In the mid-1940’s, she met Lambert Berkenbush, a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, at one of those church functions she was so fond of, and they began dating. Love blossomed and they married in September of 1949. After a lovely honeymoon to Niagara Falls that included a visit with family in Toronto, they settled in East Paterson. They began raising their family there, which grew to include four sons, before moving to Pequannock in 1968. Sadly, Lambert passed away from cancer in 1984, after thirty five years of marriage. June was a strong woman and she persevered through that loss. She poured her love into her sons and growing family in the years since.

June’s professional life was rather storied. She was smart as a whip, and a successful executive with Lincoln Park Savings & Loan during the 1970’s. When the bank president retired, it was widely anticipated that June would be promoted to bank President. But the Board of Directors had different ideas and rather than promote from within, they hired a man for the role. June entered into a lawsuit with the bank, claiming gender discrimination. Hoping to avoid the bad publicity, the bank chose to settle out of court. June considered this a personal victory, as well as a feminist one, especially for the 1970’s. Thereafter, she was employed in the Wayne Township Clerk’s office through the 1980’s, and desired to become the Township Clerk, but because she resided in Pequannock, she was ineligible. She later became a legal secretary for the firm of Scangarella & Feeney in Pompton Plains, before retiring in 2001. She was a dedicated, hardworking woman.

June’s love was always focused on her family, and that included her dogs. She was a true animal lover and adopted all of her pets through local rescues. Her last dog, Lucy, was her favorite and June loved her so much. She grew to miss all of her pets as time passed. June also loved reading, especially Mary Higgins Clark novels. She was always reading and her son’s recall how she would tote along a bag of books to their annual Long Beach Island vacation. More than anything, she enjoyed relaxing on the deck with cool beverage and a book. Sadly, she lost her eyesight to Glaucoma more than twenty years ago, and she truly missed reading. Her son introduced her to books on tape one day, and although she was reluctant to try listening at first, she soon became enthralled! Her love of reading was not lost, as she had thought, and listening to her favorite books became a newfound joy for her. June’s grandsons, Eric and Ryan, were her world. When they were little, she enjoyed picking them up every Friday and taking them to McDonalds for lunch! They have many fond memories of their grandmother and will miss her dearly.

June is survived by her four devoted sons; Richard Berkenbush and his wife Diane, Robert Berkenbush and his husband Frederick Aldorasi, David Berkenbush, and Glenn Berkenbush and his husband Timothy Acevedo, two grandsons; Eric Berkenbush and Ryan Berkenbush and his wife Brittany, a brother-in-law; Frank Scangarella, Sr., nieces and nephews: Martha Dougherty; Cynthia nee Scangarella Butler; Christine nee Scangarella Magnone; Frank Scangarella, Jr.; and James Scangarella. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Lambert in 1984, and by her sister; Edith Scangarella in 2012.

In lieu of flowers, donations in June’s memory would be appreciated to the Pequannock Animal Shelter, care of “A.D.O.P.T,” P.O. Box 331 Pompton Plains, NJ  07444.