June Peabody Elderkin passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025 at her home on Pratt’s Island Road. She was born on April 15, 1937 at the family home on the east side of Boothbay Harbor to John H. Peabody of Beals Island and Gwendolyn Brackett of Boothbay Harbor.

June attended local schools. Her childhood years were spent on and around the harbor, swimming at Lobster Cove in the summer and ice skating after Thanksgiving, when ponds would freeze over for the long haul of winter. Her grandmother, Ruby Brackett, was a loving and significant influence in her life. In the wake of the Depression and out of necessity, Ruby ran a tight ship. This influence of “living from scratch” was a shared challenge in the community. It permeated every aspect of June’s entire life, from the home she kept, the meals she provided, and her appreciation for life’s “simple pleasures,” including the beauty of the nature that surrounded her. Mom understood from her family and community that your work ethic was your currency. Whether packing sardines, fiberglassing, dinghies, or hanging wallpaper, she always took pride in her work.

The Boothbay Harbor waterfront was a thriving fishing community in the 1960s. Boats would tie up after a day of fishing, and for a handful it was a well-worn path between the dock and watering hole at Fisherman’s Wharf. Mom was waitressing when she met the captain of the 40 foot Charlotte C. Pat Elderkin was looking for a deckhand, and she was keen. This was the beginning of many years of running charters, knee-deep in codfish during the seasonal months and then lobster fishing come October. There were busman’s holidays to Damariscove where they would stay on the island at the old Browney Cottage.

June and Pat lived first on Cameron’s Point. In 1970, they built the house Mom would call home until she took her very last breath. Her kids had the benefit of growing up on the island and being part of a very special community. There were some years of wintering down in Venice, Florida, but she was always happy to come back home.

She did not have the benefit of a formal post-high school education, but this did not deter her from a lifelong love of self-taught learning, especially when it came to art and music. She sang in the Southport Methodist Church choir, and the Lincoln Festival Chorus serving as the music librarian for some years. She enjoyed playing guitar and piano, and played the baritone horn in the Boothbay Region Alumni Community Band. Mom and Dad shared an appreciation for classical music and opera.

While raising her family, fishing gave way to her love of art. Tatiana McKinney, a Russian born artist at the Venice Area Art League in Florida, was a significant mentor for Mom’s work. So began her artistic journey in earnest. From local marine painters like John Haapanen and Monhegan’s James Fitzgerald, to abstract artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock and her favorite, Georgia O’Keeffe. She loved to study their works and techniques, and to read about their lives and influences.

It was so interesting to see Mom’s work evolve over the years, with both the joy and angst that was always a part of her creative process. There were numerous shows and workshops, including her annual spring trek to the Pemaquid workshop. She always returned reinvigorated from the instruction and camaraderie. Monhegan was a favorite destination with special significance. There she would sketch and photograph and find inspiration for future work. Her grandparents had lived and worked on the island and Mom would recount how their home, after careful consideration of tides, wind and weather, had been floated by barge from Boothbay to Fish Beach where it still sits today.

She found tremendous joy in the natural surrounds of her island home, never tiring of the change of seasons, the subtle variations in the tide, a change in wind direction or the vibrancy of the sky at day’s end. It was the present moment that inspired her, and it is this gift of appreciating simple treasures that she has shared so abundantly with all of us.

Mom ran her Pratt’s Island Studio by the bridge for 23 seasons making lifelong friends along the way. She was a perennial favorite at the Southport Yacht Club’s Arts and Crafts Show every August. Mom was ferociously independent and not afraid to share her views or opinions when it came to matters of principal. This served her well when she was elected as the first ever woman commodore at the Southport Yacht Club in 1982.

It was special to see Mom in her element, in the studio out back, where she was surrounded by the art library she built over a lifetime, with plenty of paper, brushes, rags, oils, acrylics, and pastels. There was always a picture on the easel and the music of The Seekers or Bob Dylan to keep her company. It was a privilege to stop in and be in the moment with her and this creative force.

Her Southport Memorial Library family has been a fitting & final chapter. Reciting poetry, sharing music, and spending time with those of a similar-aged cohort.., this “mind food” and fellowship proved to be a sustaining force.

She was predeceased by her husband Pat Elderkin and daughter Laurel Elderkin-Graham. She is survived by her daughter Jennifer and husband Jim Wickline, her granddaughters Kate and Sage Wickline, her son Patrick and his partner Tim Conner, and her son Joshua.

We express heartfelt gratitude to all of her many wonderful neighbors and caregivers who shared in this special journey, including the healthcare teams at St. Andrews Family Care Center, Miles Hospital, Zimmerli Pavilion, and Beacon Hospice.

A celebration of life will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 27 at the Southport Memorial Library with a reception to follow at Robinson’s Wharf.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Home. The family requests any donations of support be made to the Southport Memorial Library.