June September April passed away peacefully on May 13, 2025. Preceded in death by her husband Lewis Robinson, her parents Rose and Harry April, and her brother Forrest (Twig/Perry) April. Survived by daughters Jami Grossfield and Juli Pankow, son-in-laws Sven Johnson and Wallace Pankow, and grandsons Joseph Pankow, Lars and Oden Johnson.

Born Isabelle June April on April 11, 1943 to Rose (Rubenstein) and Herschel/Harry April, June lived life to the fullest. She legally changed her name to June April as an adult, and would joke that her middle name was “September”- eventually she made that name change legal too. An adventurous spirit, June hitchhiked across Europe by herself in her early 20’s. While married to her first husband, Dr. Joseph Grossfield (deceased 1987), she bravely agreed to move to Australia with a nearly one year old and a 4-year-old so he could take advantage of a sabbatical assignment. Creativity was one of June’s greatest strengths. She taught arts and crafts classes, collecting anything and everything that could potentially be used in a future project. An accomplished pianist, she taught piano to adults and children alike. June loved theater and the arts, writing theater reviews in a freelance capacity over the years. She dabbled in radio and video shows before the days of Youtube and podcasts and reveled in the role of interviewer in all formats.

June was fortunate to marry the love of her life, Lewis Robinson, in 1988. Their kookiness was a perfect match and they shared a love of the arts and travel. Lew and June had many years of worldwide travel together, and neither of them ever met a stranger. June had a big heart that she chose to express in unique ways, and left a lasting impression on all with whom she crossed paths. She was passionate about social justice and environmental causes, devoting energy to both. In keeping with her values and her wishes, her final request has been honored as she will serve as a “silent teacher” at Elon University. No formal service is planned at this time, but there will be a celebration of June’s life at a future date.

We would like to express our gratitude to the care staff at Morningside Memory Care in Raleigh, NC and The Greens in Wilton, CT for treating June with dignity and love.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a theater/arts organization of your choice or to one of the organizations below:

Dementia Alliance of NC https://dementianc.org/

Jane Goodall Institute https://janegoodall.org/

NPR (National Public Radio) https://www.npr.org/

PBS (Public Broadcasting System) https://www.pbs.org/

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