Obituary of June Pepe

MERIDEN - June Rose Pepe, 86, a remarkable woman who was adored by all who knew her, passed on with grace, August 30, 2011 to join her beloved husband and lifelong companion of 62 years, the late Dr. Vincent Pepe of Meriden. Born June Rose Segnalla on the 1st of June, 1925, she was the youngest child of Dr. Ernest and Rose (O'Kane) Segnalla of New Haven. These two loving and dedicated medical professionals raised her with a wonderfully pervasive sense of family, optimism and gratefulness for what life offered. Blessed with striking beauty, exceptional charm, a marvelous singing voice and extraordinary intelligence, June graduated Hillhouse High School with Honors and Albertus Magnus College with a Bachelor of Science, Cum Laude. An avid reader, she took pride in serving the public as a talented librarian in both New Haven and New York City where she provided very progressive contributions such as developing innovative programs at the Library for the Blind. After marrying then U.S. Army-Air Force Captain Pepe in 1947, she supported him during residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology and later raised their four boys, Paul of Dallas, TX, Richard of Meriden CT, Vincent of Middletown, CT and Steven of Mt. Carmel, CT in their life-long city of residence, Meriden, where the widely-admired Dr. Pepe practiced for six decades. June not only was a marvelous mother who imparted her remarkable wisdom and values to her children, she was the undeniable "wind beneath the wings" of her accomplished mate, both personally and professionally. For many years, she managed her husband's practice, overseeing the staff and facilitating change and transition. Most importantly, she was a re-assuring sight for many of the arriving patients who truly loved her as much as they did her husband. Her engaging, sincere and caring manner was, in itself, a memorable aspect of patient service for thousands of central Connecticut residents. She was charismatic, expressive, and full of life, even into her late 80's, and despite chronic illness and physical limitations. All who had the privilege of meeting June, found her to be contagiously enthusiastic, truly appealing and extraordinarily insightful beyond her years. Accordingly, every person she met was immediately "at home" with her. More typically found in a backstage supporting role, in 2009 she was asked, on the spur-of-the-moment, to come to the stage and speak at a community ceremony honoring her recently-deceased husband. Though humbly reticent to do so at first, with swiftly-gained composure, she rose to podium and was captivating, inspiring and profoundly articulate. As usual, she clearly won the heart of everyone in the audience - both lifelong admirers and strangers alike. As such, she not only honored her husband, but herself as well. Among a myriad of community activities, she served as a Board Member for the Meriden Girls Club and belonged to the Meriden Chapter of the Alumni Association of Albertus Magnus as well as the Catholic Women's Guild of Meriden. She is survived, not only by her sons, but also their respective wives, including Linda, Patricia and Judy Pepe, and her 7 grandchildren; Lauren and Michael of Dallas, Texas, Melanie Ginn of Waterbury, Christopher and Jenna of Middletown and Vincent and Steven of Hamden. She is also survived by her loving family members, Frank and Mary Grazioso, of Milford and numerous dear and devoted life-long friends, including Marcia Cutrole and the many office staff members in her husband's practice who had the privilege of working with her and her beloved mate. Arrangements - Friends are invited to join the family for A Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday September 3, 2011 at 11 a.m. at Holy Angels Church 585 Main Street, South Meriden. Friends are asked to meet directly at church. Burial will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Per Mrs. Pepe's request private family calling hours were held on Friday at the Alderson Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 S. Main St. Memorial contributions may be made to CT Hospice, 100 Double Beach Rd., Branford, CT 06405.