June Rebert, 86, passed away on August 24, 2023, in Port St. John, Brevard County, Florida. She was born June Lucille Bowie in Metuchen, New Jersey, on June 25, 1937, to parents Myrtle Handerhan Bowie and Robert Norton Bowie. June was predeceased by her parents, her husband Donald Rebert, and a sister, Jaquelyn Teresa Bowie.

June spent her first six years in her mother's home state of New Jersey. Her father, native of South Carolina, yearned to return to the Deep South, and in November of 1943—right in the middle of the war—the family moved to Florida. The four of them, June, younger brother, parents, and two cats drove south, followed by an army truck carrying their belongings. Crazed by the long drive, the cats escaped and ran off somewhere along the way, but the family arrived safely and took up residence in Mt. Dora, Florida, Lake County. There June spent her formative years, graduating from Mt. Dora High School in 1955.

She worked several years as a dental assistant in Eustis. Her first job, however, was as teller at the First National Bank in Mt. Dora, notable as the first place in town to have air conditioning, which had not even been invented in the forties, when June, along with everyone else, suffered through the horrendous heat and humidity of Florida summers. When the bank installed air conditioning everyone in town went there to see what it was like; most of them emerged complaining, "Too dang cold for me."

Her brief first marriage was blessed with a son, Robert Jeffrey, born in 1959. Along with him, June moved to Melbourne, Brevard County, in 1963. Over the many years of her life there, she worked a variety of jobs, including dental assistant, book keeper and drug and alcohol abuse counselor. The latter job she found most fulfilling, together with years of taking in foster children. As a hobby June raised German shepherd dogs. In Brevard County June met Donald Rebert, whom she married in 1985. After he fell ill with heart disease, June nursed him at home for a lengthy period of time until his death. June spent twenty years at the end of her life in Trinity Towers, the senior living establishment in Melbourne, where she still has many friends.

June enjoyed her early life, including cheerleading and band in high school, then a series of wild adventures with her first husband, when they lived as "river rats" on the St. Johns River. While still in high school she participated—as unwitting and helpless accomplice—in a bombing perpetrated by two high school boys. This was connected with the egregious racial violence roiling Lake County during the forties and fifties.
Everyone who knew June was struck by her irreverent and sometimes off-color sense of humor. She was an accomplished raconteur, although the tales she told about her life's experiences often changed (were embellished) with each new retelling.

Survivors include her son, Robert Jeffrey Reed, a sister, Mary Margaret Bowie, and a brother, Robert L. Bowie. Other survivors are her surrogate son, Shannon Walker, and her beloved and faithful dog Joey.
The Bowie family is especially beholden to Sandra Mangum, her husband Jason, and her whole extended family in Port St. John. When it became apparent, in the summer of 2022, that June could no longer take care of herself, Sandra took her into her home, treated her as a member of the family, and cared for her for the final year of her life.

In the last years June had trouble sleeping in the night and would often sleep well into the mornings. On the morning of August 24, 2023, Sandra heard June get up and go to the bathroom. She went in and asked her if she wanted breakfast. June said, "No, thanks, I think I'll sleep a little bit more; I feel tired." At one o'clock Sandra noticed that June was still not up. Going in to check on her, she saw that June looked to be sleeping peacefully, but in checking closer she realized that she was dead. She had gone back to sleep and gently slept her way out of this life—thereby setting an example for all of us: a good way to go.

Cremation arranged by Davis Seawinds Funeral Home and Crematory, Melbourne, Florida. No visitation or memorial service. Ashes will be spread by the family at the Bowie burial site in Mt. Dora, Florida.