June O. Hendrix, a 42-year resident of Pacific Palisades, died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, on February 23. She was 84. Born June Opanchyk in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 28, 1926, June was proud of her Russian heritage. Her father came to this country before World War I, and earned his citizenship for combat service with the U.S. Army in that conflict. June and her husband, Charles, were married in Knoxville, Tennessee, in June 1946. Both were employed in nearby Oak Ridge, one of the primary laboratories of the Manhattan Project, which produced the first nuclear weapons. After a honeymoon in Havana, the couple returned to Oak Ridge, setting up housekeeping in a one-room efficiency apartment. Early in 1947, they moved to the Boston area, where Charles took a job with the Polaroid Corporation. In 1949, they left Boston for an extended camping trip through the Eastern United States and Canada, traveling in an old ‘woody’ station wagon they named ‘Archy.’ Running out of money in St. Louis, the settled there for a time and then, in 1952, accepted positions at the Naval Ordinance Test Station in China Lake, California. June loved the desert life at China Lake, where all of her three children were born. As they grew, she instilled in them her strong sense of integrity and honesty as well as her love of nature and the outdoors. Following Charles’ work, the family moved to Glendora in 1961. Summers there were usually hot and smoggy, and June would often load up the station wagon with as many of her children and their friends as the car would hold, taking them to cooler environments in the mountains or at the beach. In 1969, the family moved to a house on Bienveneda in Pacific Palisades. After raising her family, June began working as a secretary/technical illustrator for Nobel Prize-winner Donald Cram in the chemistry department at UCLA. She illustrated his many technical papers, including two books and his Nobel lecture. At first she used pen and ink, but later taught herself computer graphics to speed up the process. June also loved her role as ‘second mom’ to the many graduate students and post-docs who made up Dr. Cram’s research group. She followed their careers and was inordinately proud when any of them achieved success and recognition. After retirement in 1993, June took up silversmithing, making silver settings for semi-precious stones that were cut and polished by her son, Michael, a professional lapidarist. She also loved gardening and traveling, often just simply roaming about the countryside with family members. June was preceded in death by her sister, Wanda Sweers of Alexandra, Virginia. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Charles; son Michael and daughter-in-law Linda Diaz of San Antonio, New Mexico; son Philip of Oakland; and daughter Lisa Hendrix of Van Nuys. Plans for a memorial service are pending.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
