(1952 – 2013)
June McCutcheon, a master gardener, was born in Blacks Harbour, N.B. on June 11th, 1952 and was the third and youngest child of George and Emily Fraser. She grew up in St. George and graduated from Eastern Charlotte Regional High School in 1970. She was working as a secretary in St. George in the fall of 1971, when she met her husband, Steve; they married in February of the following year and moved to the Sussex area in late 1973. Every year they grew a vegetable garden, from which June bottled, froze and pickled the produce for winter. Their son, Lorne, was born in 1982, which was about the time that June met Sandy, the lady who showed her that there was more to gardening than growing beans. Sandy ran a nursery in Sussex and hired June for the summer. June received enough cash to pay the babysitter and took the rest of her wages in plants. By 1987, when the family moved to Bathurst, she had accumulated quite a collection of plants, so many in fact that it took one cube van just to move the plant material.
In Bathurst, June started developing a new garden using the transplanted material from Sussex. She discovered which plants thrived and which ones needed to be replaced. Over the course of 26 years, she created a perennial garden that is wondrous to behold and covers a significant portion of the front and back yards of the family home on Palmer Drive. For many years, cars have been driving by slowly with people admiring the gardens from the street. Visitors would commonly get a guided tour of the yard. As a result, word spread and her garden was recently featured in the Summer 2013 edition of Garden Making magazine. To quote the gardener: "Visitors have said that my garden reflects my love of it, and I would say that’s true."
On July 31st 2013 the master gardener hung up her tools. June passed away at home with family and friends at her side; she got her wish not to die in hospital. She is survived by her mother, Emily; her husband, Steven; her son, Lorne (partner Becky); granddaughter, Aidan; brothers: David (wife Shirley) and Allen (wife Yolande), and brothers-in-law: Keith (wife Joyce) and Joe (wife Lisa) plus numerous nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by her father, George.
The body is entrusted to the care of Elhatton’s Funeral Home in Bathurst, where she will be cremated. There will be no visitation or formal funeral service. However, a celebration of June’s life will occur on Saturday, August 31st from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. with a memorial gathering at 3 p.m.(rain date September 1st) in her garden on Palmer Drive. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in June’s name for maintenance of the "Boys in Red Memorial Garden" care of the City of Bathurst, to the Extra Mural Program of New Brunswick, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
