Remembrance Day this year is even more poignant for one family who is mourning the recent passing of their matriarch.
D-Day veteran June Stewart Burgoyne died at the age of 98 at the end of September.
“She taught me the joy of life, to enjoy every day. She was just so good, she really was,” said Wanda Bellfountaine, a close friend and fellow legion member.
Stewart Burgoyne was born and raised in Britain. She was a member of the women’s Royal Naval Service during the Second World War, when she was 18 years old. The memories of that time never faded.
In an interview with Global News in 2019, she said, “I can hardly believe that I was there and just looked out over the ocean and there was landing craft as far as the eye could see.”
June found love in war.
“She looked out over the deck of the ship and (her future partner) was standing on the dock,” said her daughter Veronica Saretsky, adding he had returned to find her after duty got in the way with a previous plan for a date.
When the war was over June joined many other war brides and boarded the Queen Mary in 1946 to join their Canadian husbands. The couple had six children, but her time in the navy never left her.
“That was a small number of years, but it shaped everything in her life. She was always more comfortable when she was with other veterans — they seemed to share a bond after living through the world war,” said Saretsky.
While her family said she didn’t share a lot about the difficult memories during the war, she didn’t let a day go by without gratitude for the present moment. She was a lifetime member of two Royal Canadian Legion branches and an active volunteer with the Ladies Auxiliary. She was also a teacher.
“She fought for freedom, for our democracy and it was very important to share it with others and young children about sacrifice and the importance for them to remember,” said June Perkins, a cousin.
Remembrance Day was always an important time for the D-Day veterans who volunteered on countless Poppy campaigns. She never forgot about the lives lost.
“This has been a great honor for the boys that left us on D-Day to have everybody remember them because they were only like me,” she told Global News at the 75th anniversary of D-day.
Eight decades after that fateful time, it is now she who is being forever remembered for her sacrifice and service.