June Marie Hardin, 76, of Wapello died Saturday morning, January 19, 2013, at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. The daughter of Ralph ‘Bill’ and Ethel Marie Hesler Wilson, she was born on December 4, 1936, in Iowa City. She married Don Hardin on July 29, 1955 in Wapello.

June attended school in Morning Sun and graduated from Wapello High School in 1954. She attended Gehl Institute in Minneapolis where she studied airline communications. She worked at the Farm Bureau Insurance in Wapello and then spent several years raising her four boys. She then worked for 9 years at IRC in Burlington before working as a receptionist and secretary for Scott & Company in Wapello. In 1973, she purchased that business which became Wapello Fabrications. Through these last forty years they were at the beginning edge of the pillow entertainment construction and remain as one of the last two that continue in the U.S.

June was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Wapello having served on several committees and boards along with the UMW and the church choir. She was a member of the Kiwanis Club, Wapello Development Corporation and Wapello Community Health. She helped develop the Hardin Fun Times kiddy rides etc., and she served on the Board of Directors for the Amusement Industry Manufacturer’s and Suppliers (AIMS) International and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) along with being a member of various other amusement organizations. She was a wonderful homemaker and enjoyed her flower and vegetable gardens.

“AIMS has lost one of it’s most dedicated and beloved volunteers. June Hardin, known to all simply as Miss June, was a former board member of AIMS, and an education and planning committee volunteer for many years. Her unstoppable sense of volunteerism to AIMS will be fondly remembered as part of the AIMS legacy,” said Mike Gutknecht, AIMS President, “and I know I speak for all of our members as we send our deepest sympathy to her loved ones.” “Simply put, she was loved by all,” added AIMS Education Director, Patty Beazley who worked with her for many years at the annual AIMS Safety Seminar. As a pioneer in the inflatable industry, her keen sense of humor and dedication to the amusement industry will be sorely missed.

Her family includes her husband, Don; four sons, Randy & Kris Hardin of Iowa City, Kevin & Patty Hardin of Wapello, Gordon & Lisa Hardin of Wapello and Don & Annette Hardin of Wapello; ten grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; a sister, Joyce & Michael Jackson of Davenport; and her stepfather, Arturo Padilla of Wapello. She was preceded in death by her parents and an infant sister, Julie.

The funeral ceremony for June Hardin will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 23, 2013, at the United Methodist Church in Wapello, with Rev. Pam Kranzler officiating. Burial will follow at the Edwards Cemetery in Oakville followed by a fellowship lunch at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Wapello.

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