External Affairs | Courtesy
June Roche loved people — to help and to care for them.
The first wife of former Hillsdale President George Roche III died Oct. 16. She was 79. Those who knew her remember the passion and energy with which she sought to bless even strangers she encountered.
One of her daughters, Maggie Murphy, recalls when she mentioned a student of hers who had been diagnosed with cancer and was struggling with the loss of her hair.
“The very next day she said, ‘Come on, we’re going to get her a gift card to a wig shop at the mall so that she can get a wig,’” Murphy said. “If she saw someone in need, she took upon herself to try and make their life just a little bit easier.”
Linda Moore, Mossey Library’s public service librarian, was in a monthly breakfast club with Roche and knew her for almost 40 years. She said Roche was a caregiver.
She described how Roche called someone who recently had back surgery and lived alone every day at 9 a.m. to check on them. It was only the onset of an illness this month that made her miss a single day.
Professor of Law Bob Blackstock and his family were also friends with Roche for nearly 40 years.
“She was a really fine lady: caring, giving, always with an ear and the time for someone who wanted to be heard,” he said. “The world is a poorer place without her.”
June Roche made Hillsdale her home after she arrived from Colorado in 1971 with her then-husband, Hillsdale President George Roche III.
“She always came back to here,” Murphy said. “She loved to go to Denver and hangout with her high school friends, but she absolutely considered Hillsdale her home, both the community and still at the college level.”
Many said Roche was a gracious hostess while she lived at Broadlawn. After 1999, though less closely connected to the college, she remained a member of the President’s Club, attended Center for Constructive Alternatives seminars, and was present at the 25th anniversary celebration for Hillsdale Academy earlier this month. She participated in the Hillsdale Garden Club, met for breakfasts at the Coffee Cup, and lunched with friends. She is survived by four children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Her funeral service is this morning, Oct. 22, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 2551 W. Bacon Road. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Salvation Army and Kyomi’s Gift. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Maggie Murphy at 3200 Stager Driver, Middleville, Michigan, 49333.
