June Laura (Koester) Usher, 90, of Viburnum died July 10, 2026, at Missouri Baptist Hospital. Mrs. Usher lived in Festus most of her life and was employed at several different jobs until securing a secretarial job at McDonnell Douglas and retiring from there after 29 years. She met Ken, and they were married on Oct. 15, 1978. They moved to Viburnum after they both retired and lived there for 30 years on his family’s farm. They enjoyed country life and raising cattle. She was Baptist and had been a member of the Eastern Star in Crystal City. She enjoyed working with counted cross-stitch, crocheting, bowling and reading. Her favorite pastime was working in her flower garden and spending time with her grandchildren, telling them stories about life during the depression and how, growing up, she and her sister, Elsie, caught rheumatic fever and were very sick. Born Sept. 13, 1935, in Valles Mine, she was the daughter of the late Howard and Arvetta Cortor Koester.
She is survived by her husband: Kenneth Usher of 48 years; two daughters: Diane Curtis of Viburnum and Julie (Larry) Pellicano of Destin, Fla.; two sons: Carl Elliott of Cape Girardeau and Jeff (Jeanne) Usher of Steelville; nine grandchildren: Jennifer Humphrey of Viburnum, Amanda (Teddy) Williams of Webster Groves, Adam Green of St. Louis, Thomas Green of Rolla, Ben Conley of Chesterfield, Lauren (Shawn) Warren of St. Louis, Nicole Pellicano of Destin, Fla., David (Lauren) Usher of Ballwin and Sarah (Garrett) Auston of Springfield; a granddaughter-in-law: Ashley Usher of Olathe, Kan.; 11 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and many other family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her mother-in-law: Mildred Usher; an infant sister: Violet Koester; a sister: Elsie (Eldon) Douglas; a brother: Herman Koester; a daughter: Amy Usher Green; a son-in-law: Ira Curtis; a daughter-in-law: Deborah Elliott; two grandsons: Dan Usher and Ron Greenwalt; and four nephews: Tom Koester, Greg Koester, Mark Koester and Paul Douglas.
Visitation is scheduled from 11 a.m. until funeral services at 1 p.m. Friday, July 17, at Britton-Bennett Funeral Home, 110 Cedar St., in Steelville, officiated by the Rev. Paul Davis. Committal prayer and interment will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Viburnum. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105. Arrangements are under the direction of Britton-Bennett Funeral Home of Steelville.