June Ellen Ende

June Ellen (Grage) Ende, age 61, of Yankton, South Dakota, died Sunday, October 25, 2020 at Avera Sister James Care Center in Yankton. Funeral services are 2:00 PM on Friday, October 30, 2020 at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton with Pastor Jeff Mueller officiating.  The funeral will also be live streamed at www.facebook.com/WintzRay and on June’s obituary page at www.wintzrayfuneralhome.com.  Burial will be in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Yankton.  Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 PM on Thursday, October 29 at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton with a prayer service at 7:00 PM.  The family requests everyone to wear something purple, which was her favorite color, in her memory. Pallbearers are Billy Huls, Randy Huls, Craig Huls, Garrett Grage, Jamie Schewe, Emily Dierks, Dustin Grage and Paul Miller.  Honorary pallbearers are all her grandchildren. June Ellen (Grage) Ende was born April 17, 1959, in Moorhead, Minnesota, to Dennis and Betty (Moffit) Grage.  She spent her childhood years in North Dakota near her grandparents’ farm.  She spent her time with her cousins, playing with the farm animals, being outside and sleeping in tents.  She moved to Alcester, SD in 1974 and graduated from Alcester High School in 1977.  She attended Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, SD for Licensed Practical Nursing in 1978.  She spent her life taking care of people.  She enjoyed working with the mentally ill at Prairie Homes Assisted Living. She was a member of NAMI/IOOV and helped many people by sharing her story.  She was a member of Yankton Writers Club and wrote many stories and poems for her family and even had one of her poems published.  June loved the outdoors and everything in nature.  She loved camping, hiking, fishing and gardening.  She loved to explore with her daughter and grandchildren to find animals and collect treasures.  She loved classical music, whether it was attending a concert, singing loudly on a road trip with family and friends or singing karaoke with her daughter.  June also loved to dance, especially the jitterbug and polka.  She loved her Minnesota Vikings and rarely missed a game. Most of all, June loved spending time with her big, amazing family playing games, cards, talking and just being crazy.  She loved Jesus and her Restore Church family and tried to be a good example to others around her.  She collected lighthouses that reminded her of the light of Jesus.  She also collected angels and butterflies. June is survived by her daughter, Amanda (Kevin) Johnson of Yankton; grandchildren: Steven (Nate) Rogers of Omaha, NE; Zeik (Kristen) Johnson of Omaha; Matthew, Shanda, Draven and Jasper Johnson all of Yankton; great granddaughter, ZuRayna Puppino; mother, Betty Jo Grage of Hawarden, IA  two brothers: David (Teri) Grage of Buffalo, MN and Nathan Grage of Hawarden, IA; two sisters: Rhonda Huls of Hawarden and Gail Dierks of Hanlontown, IA; and many nieces and nephews. June was preceded in death by her father, Dennis Grage.  

FUNERAL SERVICE:

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VIDEO TRIBUTE: