As received from the Pearce Funeral Home. If you have questions about, or potential corrections to the content, please contact the funeral home directly.
June Durocher, 95, of Lake Linden, passed away on April 15, 2026. She’d been in Canal View Houghton County, where she received excellent care, since January 31, 2020. She’d been in hospice care for the last year and a half, as her health had been declining after a second broken hip.
June was born in Lake Linden on June 10, 1930, to Peter and Irene (Massie) Normand. She graduated with honors from Lake Linden-Hubbell High School in 1948 and became the first person in her family to graduate. She moved to Detroit to work and live with her aunt for a while after high school. But she decided it wasn’t the place for her and she came back home. After she got back, she played softball for a few years on the Maple Leaf team. She played shortstop and said that those were some of the happiest times of her young life.
On March 31, 1951, she married Ben Durocher of Houghton. They met while she was playing softball, as they both had a great love for the sport. He was smitten immediately and she often said she didn’t know if it was her or the fact that she played softball that got his attention. When they were first married, they moved around a lot for his different jobs until finally settling in Lake Linden where they raised their two children. June was a very devout Catholic with deep faith who prayed the rosary every day.
June was a wonderful person who spent her life raising their 2 children and caring for their home. She was a fabulous cook and baker and their home always smelled like something delicious. She cooked 3 meals every day, which would be unheard of these days. But she always said she loved to cook and many Sundays were spent having somebody over for a meal. She loved working in her yard and especially with her flowers. She also loved playing cards, especially cribbage and pinochle and we could sit for hours playing. Next to softball, bowling was her favorite sport to play and she was on a team for many years, bowling at the Copper Bowl and Al’s Trophy Lanes. But her greatest love was her family. Once those grandchildren started coming, she was happiest spending time with them.
June is survived by her daughter, Deb (Ron) Simons of Lake Linden. She is also survived by 7 grandsons, Chris (Staci), Todd (Kristi), Michael (Erika), Ryan (Christy), Perry (Amber), Jesse, & Peter (Melissa). She is also survived by her 18 great-grandchildren and 4 1/2 great-great-grandchildren (whom she was so sad to never get a 5 generation picture with), and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben after 57 years of marriage, son Tim, daughter-in-law Sue, parents, sister, 2 brothers, 2 infant brothers, all of her brothers and sisters in law, as well as many nieces and nephews.
We would like to thank everybody at Canal View who helped to care for her. They became like family to all of us and there are so many wonderfully caring people working there. We can never thank them enough for the care they gave her. We would also like to thank Aspirus Hospice, and especially Sonia, who gave her such good care and was there for us until the end. I would like to add a very special thank you to my cousin, Kathy, who has been there for June and me. Whenever I couldn’t be around, Kathy was always more than willing to go and sit with her when we were out of town or sick so June wouldn’t get too lonely. She held a very special place in June’s heart. Also, all of my cousins who visited her regularly, know she loved and appreciated your visits so much.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, April 24, 2026 at St Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Linden with Father Raju Jose to officiate. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:30 A.M. at the Pearce Funeral Home on Friday, April 24, 2026. Spring burial will be at the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Lake Linden.
Online condolences may be shared with the family at pearcefuneralhome.com
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