June Evelyn Freeman Beadle, 81, a dedicated educator, librarian, historian and cherished community member of Lake Wales and Polk County, FL, passed away on May 25, 2010.

Born April 3, 1929 in Lawrenceburg, TN, June spent her early years on the family farm in Winston County, AL and enjoyed recounting the many childhood adventures she shared with her siblings! In 1942, she moved with her family to Frostproof, FL where she graduated as valedictorian from Frostproof High School in 1947 and earned the nation’s first four-year college scholarship from the International Minerals & Chemical Corporation.

June loved learning, earning her Bachelor of Arts from Florida State University and a Master of Arts from the University of Florida, along with master’s certifications in elementary, secondary, junior college education, library science and media, as well as completing additional doctoral studies at UF and Florida Atlantic University. She was a very accomplished woman and dedicated herself to teaching others, from gifted students to special education. She was credited for teaching the first unit of special education in the public schools of Lake Wales back in the 1950s! She taught for sixteen years in Florida public schools, including eight in school libraries and served seven years as head librarian at the Lake Wales Public Library. She combined her love of history and learning by being a founding member of the Lake Wales Depot Museum, establishing the Polk County Historical Museum and helping to relocate the Polk County Historical and Genealogical Library to Bartow’s Old Courthouse. She was well known for helping many families with genealogical research to uncover unique and interesting facts about their family history, happily combing through microfiche, land records, census data, military data, cemetery etchings, wills, etc., long before the records were digitized and available online, to find the missing piece of a family’s lineage.

June was a very engaging public speaker, lecturing on many of her favorite topics across Central Florida including educational topics, library topics, history and genealogy, dream interpretation, shells and shell collecting. She loved writing and contributed many columns for Lake Wales and Winter Haven newspapers, authored children’s books, short stories, was named a Gold Medal Poet from World of Poetry and joyfully shared limericks with the family on special occasions. She also edited, introduced, and indexed Janyce Ahl’s “Crown Jewel of the Highlands”, a history of Lake Wales.

She had many hobbies throughout her life, but her love of seashells topped them all! She was an avid shell collector, particularly the fossil shells of Florida and the juvenile and miniature shells of Florida and the Caribbean. She collected thousands over the years and categorized them all!

June was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Ira Beadle; her parents, Lacy Lougillah Freeman and Robert Edward Freeman; her dear sister, Faye Freeman Anderson. She is survived by son, Matthew (Judy) Beadle, her sister, Roberta (Chuck) Harriman, her brothers, Tom (Priscilla) Freeman and Jack (Lynne) Hudson. She was beloved by her nieces Teresa (Souhad) Chawi, Cheryl (Richard) Sherman, Roberta (Alan) Weissman, Jody (Fred) Saenz, Cindy (Anthony) Polston, and Jacquelyn Hudson; nephews Charles Harriman, Jr. and Alan Hudson; many great-nieces and nephews ; and one granddaughter.

June is remembered for her boundless energy, engaging conversation, creativity, dedication to education and history, and beautiful joyful spirit.