Barbara June Giddens

Published 3:00 am Wednesday, August 9, 2017

After a long valiant battle with cancer, Barbara June Giddens died on August 6, 2017 at home in Millbrook, Alabama.  She leaves behind husband Charles and sons, Deric, Dan, and Michael.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 2:00 pm from the chapel of Dillard Funeral Home in Troy with the Reverend Mike Ingram officiating.  Interment will follow in Green Hills Memorial Cemetery with Dillard Funeral Home of Troy directing.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, August 9, 2017 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Dillard Funeral Home in Troy.

June was born on June 29, 1937 in Banks, Alabama to father J.T. Smith and mother Velma Smith, who predeceased her.  She grew up in a very loving family with three sisters, Brenda, Bonnie and Patricia.

June graduated from Pike County High School in 1955 in a close-knit class with whom she has maintained close and loving relationships.  Following high school she attended business school, acquiring the equivalence of an associate’s degree.   After business school she worked as legal secretary for Mr. Oliver Brantley until 1962.

June married Charles on September 18, 1959 and in 1962 followed Charles through a twenty year Air Force career, with assignments to several states, England and the Philippines.   Throughout her schooling and travels, and to this very day, she has been singled out for her kind disposition and natural beauty.  She easily made friends at all the places she lived.

In the Philippines June acquired an avid interest in tennis that continued through all the following years.  In recent years she made close friends and played with women in her age group in Montgomery; and she was known for the commendable skills she had acquired.

In 1993, with a change in Charles’ job location, June returned to Alabama to live in Millbrook, where she joined Millbrook Baptist Church and acquired close friends that have extended generous support and prayer throughout her ordeal.   And, June actively exemplified the spirit of the church by driving a nearby disabled member to Sunday services for several years.

After being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November, 2015, June remarkably remained a beautiful, strong, and brave woman, withstanding devastating chemotherapy treatments, surgery, and a number of paracenteses to fight her cancer and infections, even during her final months.  Oncologists, nurses, family and friends have marveled at the strength with which she fought her illness, but now can only pray and trust she has found the peace she has more than earned from her strong religious convictions.

June is survived by husband Charles; sons and families, Deric (Edwina), Dan (Franziska), and Michael; and sisters and families, Brenda (Lyle) Orr, Bonnie (Harry) Meadows, and Patricia (Scott) Sharpe; five grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.