June Raben's Obituary
June Kalus Raben died on Thanksgiving morning, November 24th. A fitting ending to a storybook life. But not because of privilege or because her life was easy. It was because she was the strongest, toughest, most intelligent, witty and resilient woman that any of her 6 children, 15 grandchildren and yet to be determined great-grandchildren will ever know. She was married to her beloved husband, Murray, for almost 64 years and lovingly spoke to him every day since his death in 2013. She raised 6 solid kids, ran 4 successful child daycare centers, was very active in her temple and had a wonderful social life with her friends and extended family. She was inquisitive, kind and able to adapt to the challenges that each decade presented, never becoming stale or remotely irrelevant. She was forever young. Most of all she made every person she met feel special and important both to themselves and to the world around them. We will miss her and she will provide us with strength and guidance for the rest of our lives. Our profound love for her and faith in her love for us shall bless her legacy.
June Frances (Feygele) Kalus Raben, born June 24, 1929 in Boston, Massachusetts, and died at home as she wished in Miami Beach, Florida on November 24th, 2022.
Her parents were Barney and Rae (Isaacs) Kalus; Jun(ie) joined her year older sister Ruth(ie). They were incredibly close, and remained so. As young children they sang in duet, opened pine nuts for their very loving Dad, and enjoyed what they described as a wonderful childhood in a number of apartments in Brighton and Brookline, MA. Theirs was a world very tight families and friends who gathered for cards, holidays, drinks and the formation of a loving community.
June and Ruth were busted one day for skipping high school to see a Frank Sinatra concert, when a Boston newspaper featured them in a crowd photo. That was fun.
After high school June attended the Staley School of the Spoken Word, from which June would add that John F. Kennedy graduated. To hear her tell it, her more serious pursuit was dating, of which she and Ruthie apparently did a lot. Sometimes two a night, with different height heels at the front door at the ready depending on the height of the suitor of the hour.
Murray was the one. A veteran who owned a car, he happened to be movie star handsome, and kind. They courted briefly, and married on December 18, 1949 in Brookline. They moved to Bangor, Maine quickly in to their marriage, to help manage Auto Rest Park in Carmel, Maine, an amusement park that Murray’s parents Jenny and Harry owned. June, the least observant Jew, made and sold the fried clams.
Apart from the birth of Karen then Peter, life in Bangor was tough for June. Two lost pregnancies didn’t help. June and Murray decided to leave Bangor, settling in Miami, Florida, at the suggestion of Murray’s cousin Milton Weinstein. They joined a small and vibrant Jewish community of young parents around NW 4th Street. Murray worked as an accountant, June focused on new arrivals Bruce, Richard and David. The early loss of her father Barney was traumatizing for June, and galvanized her to be as close to her family as possible, and live each day accordingly.
June’s mother Rae moved to Miami, remarried, and was close to the family, then she too died relatively young, of cancer.
In 1954, they bought land in Ives Estates, in north Dade County, and settled in for the long haul. They with a small group of friends formed and raised money for a new synagogue, B’Nai Raphael, and formed a very vibrant social life with couples who would remain their friends for their entire lives—Millers, Elkins, Wagners, Weinsteins, Dushkins, Housmans and so many others. June was active in the Sisterhood, fierce in the donor credit competitions, and with her friend Arlene Foster formed the pre school at the synagogue.
Upon the whoops birth of Robert, their youngest, in 1963, June committed to working full time, as a financial security matter. She and Arlene formed Mrs Foster’s Younger Set, later Skipper Chuck’s Child Care, which June ultimately owned for more than 50 years. She was the bus driver, cook, substitute teacher, and owner/manager for years, and still managed to come home every week night and put dinner on the table for 8 people, then do laundry, and everything else.
In the early 1990s, Karen moved her parents to Miami Beach, a beautiful ocean-facing apartment that for both felt like a permanent vacation.
June, now Grandma’s, centrifugal force was her family; she did whatever was possible to keep us intact, and close. Successfully. Passover dinners. A yearly family weekend cruise to the Bahamas, where a small fortune was spent by her on Bingo cards for us all. Yom Kippur breakfasts for scores, first in Miami, later in Washington DC, for which she prepared everything. The kugel was outstanding, the stuffed cabbage always gone, the apricot strudel seemed to always come out right. Most years she managed to get in the “don’t touch, it’s for the shiva” joke.
The lasting presence and gift are her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, with whom she had secrets and private conversations for each, over years. She took the time, and interest, to cultivate each of us as we were. As she aged, she got more blunt. That was tough. But no one ever doubted where it was coming from, and the motivations, which was to be our best selves, and be good to each other.
Here is her legacy:
Karen Raben and Andrea Pernick. Sasha Pernick and Kevin Moses. A series of beloved dogs.
Peter and Toni Raben. Jay Rosen and Debbie Kwon, Todd and Kim Rosen, Damon and Laura Raben, and Cami Raben and Adam Dudd. Grandchildren Kayleigh, Bryce, Max, and Eli Rosen, and Dylan, Ethan and Jack Raben.
Bruce Raben. Jessica Raben and Tyler and Stephanie Raben. Grandchildren Madison and Jordan.
Richard and Lauren Raben. Dale and Jay Goldberg, Kelly Raben and Ricky Nettina, and Dennis and Katie Raben. The grandchildren are Max, Vera, Remy, Jones, Kaylis and Etta. With two more on the way.
David Raben and Anabel Lewis. Danny and Casey Raben, Natalie Raben and Sohrab Rejai Sani, Carli Raben and Adrienne Harreveld and Axel Bilbao. Grandchildren Teddy, Kennedy and Roxana.
Robert Raben and Anthony Coley. Maddy and Ryan Hegarty, Kris and Jennie Krupa. Granchildren Peyton June, Cameron Claire and Max. And the rest.
And her chosen children Carol Fenster and Danny Cabrera.
She was profoundly close to a modern gaggle of nephews and nieces, with whom she had clear and special bonds. They include Margie and Bruce Hambro, Nancy and Alan Roberts, Bruce and Mercedes Rodman, and Richard Rodman. David and Carrie Raben, Adam Raben and Ann Martelli, Elisa and Steven Lupovitch and Jesse Raben [meh] and Kim Chemerika.
Her legacy includes profoundly loving and caring people who have been with her over the years, and they have taken care of each other in ways we see, and more importantly in ways we will never know.
Elizabeth Pardo
Katherine Mitchell
Grace Roberts
Yamilet Munguia
Debra Jackson
Monique Cherenfant
LaTashia Toney
A host of men and women at the Miami Beach condo with whom she had a special kinship, in particular Woovens Appolon, Eschele Tancien, Russell Collins, Pierre Milton, Rene Dugue, Mercidieu Preval, Etienne Jolbert and Paula Mendez.
Chapel service 2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 27, 2022 at Levitt Weinstein Beth David Memorial Chapel, 3201 N. 72 Avenue, Hollywood, Florida 33024. Arrangements by Levitt Weinstein Blasberg Rubin Zilbert (305) 932-2700.
What’s your fondest memory of June?
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Share a story where June's kindness touched your heart.
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