Obituary of June Peifer

June Peifer, age 87, passed away on January 25, 2017 at home in Tucson, Arizona. June was born Susan Smith in Albany, New York and, at age 3, was adopted by Merle Gamble Galbraith, Sr. and Jessie Cummings Galbraith. She grew up in Highland Park, New Jersey with her brother Merle, Jr. where their father taught mathematics at Rutgers University. She was an avid softball player and baton twirler at Highland Park High School. After attending nursing school at Middlesex General Hospital School of Nursing, she met and later married Army Lt. Don Peifer and with him raised a family of three sons—Mark, Merle, and Chuck—while taking successive assignments in Boston, Massachusetts, Honolulu, Hawaii, Alexandria, Virginia, Berlin, Germany, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, West Point, New York, and Alexandria, Virginia. She twice saw her husband assigned to serve overseas, first in Korea and later in Vietnam. June and Don eventually retired in Albuquerque where she joined her husband as an avid golfer, and they later settled in Tucson. June loved people, never hesitated to offer friendly advice, and maintained an upbeat attitude even as she dealt with the burdens of health declines and memory loss in her last year. She is survived by her husband, her sons, her brother, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Interment will be at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, California. There are no public services planned, but the family would welcome notes or calls from friends through the online guestbook on this website.