June Madeleine Stewart Tomlinson

JUNE MADELEINE STEWART TOMLINSON—1927-2018 June passed quietly from this life on Aug. 12, 2018 with her son Stewart at her side. She was 91. June was born in London, England Jan. 24, 1927 to Ian Duncan Ritchie and Cordelia Elizabeth May Langridge, named because her mother loved the song “June in January”. June grew up in England and graduated from Bath High School in 1945, attended Business College in Liverpool in 1946, and worked as a clerk-book-keeper for the Liverpool Gas Company from 1947 to 1955. In June, 1955, she emigrated to the United States aboard the Cunard Line Queen Elizabeth to start a new life. June worked as a waitress at the Otis Air Force Base (AFB) Club, and shared a cottage with 2 friends at the Picture Lake Motel in Pocasset, MA. It was on the lake that June met Lt. Oscar F. Tomlinson, her future husband, a pilot in the Air Force. They married at the Otis AFB chapel on Nov. 5, 1955 and took a cross-continental road trip across the U.S. for their honeymoon. Both June and Oscar loved to travel, and the military life was well suited for them. From 1956 to 1970, Oscar and June were stationed at various bases in the U.S. –Mass. (Falmouth, Otis AFB), Texas (Bryan, Hondo, Laredo, Sheppard AFBs), Florida (Tyndall AFB), Georgia (Moody AFB), and California (Hamilton AFB); Germany (Hofgeismar and Berlin), and Turkey (Ankara). During this time, June was the quintessential housewife, raising her two boys, Stewart and Gregory, and active in the bases local housewife clubs. June loved dogs, especially Pekingese, and had one or more in the household most of her life. June also loved birds, and always had feeders and birdbaths in the yard to attract and watch them. June was proud of her British ancestry and travelled to England to visit her relatives when she could. In 1970, Lt. Col. Oscar F. Tomlinson died from injuries received in an accident while stationed in Turkey and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. After Oscar’s death, June settled in the San Antonio, TX area where some Air Force friends were stationed. June lived there from 1971 to 2011 and worked for many years as a Red Cross volunteer for the eye clinic on Randolph AFB. In Sept, 2011 June moved to Tallahassee to be near her son Stewart where she resided until her death. June was predeceased by her husband, Oscar (Nov. 15, 1970) and son, Gregory (Nov. 11, 1991). She is survived by her son Stewart Tomlinson (Keith Murchison) of Tallahassee, sister Ann Ritchie of Bath, England, and nephews, nieces, and cousins in Great Britain and the U.S. June will be interred with her late husband at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date with a small ceremony at that time. Susie Mozolic of Bevis Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Tributes

June Madeleine Stewart Tomlinson

January 24, 1927 - August 12, 2018