June Adams Gianakos

Retired Secretary, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

    Memorial services for June Adams Gianakos will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Luther Ott officiating.

    Mrs. Gianakos died Saturday, March 30, 2011, at Anderson Regional Medical Center, South Campus.

June was born in Seattle, Wash., on June 1, 1925, to Paul and Elsie Adams. Named June because she heralded in the month, she grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska, where she moved when her father became manager of the Tsongas Trading Company. Her parents ran the USO during World War II and she remembered dancing with all of the young sailors to the music of the day.

    June attended Principia University, the University of Southern California and Memphis State University. In 1949, while a single working girl in Seattle, she met the love of her life, Demetreos George Gianakos. After dating two months, the two married in 1950 and were stationed in San Diego, Calif., for the first time.

June was with her U.S. Navy husband in many ports, including Brownsville, Texas (where son Kris was born in Corpus Christi); Adak, Alaska (where daughter Kim was born); Hawaii, Memphis and back to San Diego. The couple served at their final Navy station in Meridian in 1966. George retired after 30 years in the U.S. Navy and the two chose Meridian as the place to rear their family.

    June waited until her children were older, then went back to work as secretary for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Okatibbee. When she started her new job, the dam was built but the lake was not yet filled; when she retired in 1986, Lake Okatibbee had become a major recreational water park for Lauderdale County.

    June traveled the world with her Greek sister-in-laws, touring New York City, Greece and taking an extensive trip to China when they opened their doors in 1984. Attending her 45th high school reunion at Ketchikan High School, she noted her once small island of 3,000 people had now become a thriving tourism destination.

    “Mrs. G,” as she was fondly known, will be remembered for her kindness, her ability to bring her large, boisterous Greek family together and her compassion. She was an avid gardener, could put a puzzle together faster than anyone and read a book every two days. She loved her many dogs, especially her “little” beagle, Addy. Most of all, she will be remembered as the person who listened, understood and was the gentle heart of her family.

    June is survived by her husband of 61 years, Demetreos George Gianakos; her son, Kris Gianakos and his wife, Bebe, of Meridian; daughter, Kim Gianakos of Meridian; granddaughter, Krilecia Michael Gianakos of Meridian; brother, Paul Adams of California; numerous nephews in Alaska and her large Greek family, headed by now-matriarch Phryne Hayhurst of New York City.

    She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Quincy Adams; her grandson, Nicholas Gianakos; her sisters-in-law, Billie Mazarakes and Athena Gianakos; and her brother-in-law, Antonio Gianakos.

    The family requests that memorials be made to the Nicholas Gianakos Scholarship Endowment at Meridian Community College.

    Family visitation will be one hour before the memorial service.