Aurita June Bird

Mrs. Aurita June “June” Bird passed away peacefully on September 2^nd, 2022, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, at the age of 87 years old.

June is preceded in death by her mother Theresa (Haddock), her father Aubrey McCulloch, and by her brother Ronald Gene McCulloch. June is survived by her loving husband Paul Bird of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, her son Fred Bird and his wife June of New Canaan, Connecticut, her son David Bird and his wife Catherine of Chicago, Illinois, and by her daughter Jennifer Newton and her husband Richard of Santa Fe, NM. June is also survived by her grandchildren, Jesse Bird, Gene Bird, Chloe Newton, Caterina Bird, and Laurette Bird.

June was born on Sunday, February 17, 1935, to Theresa (Haddock) and Aubrey McCulloch in Dodd City, Texas. She attended Tuloso-Midway High School in Corpus Christi, TX, and graduated with her Diploma in 1952. June attended Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1989. June married Mr. Paul Bird on Saturday, June 23^rd, 1956, in Robstown, TX. They were married for 66 years and had three children.

June lived in Los Alamos and White Rock, New Mexico, for 20 years. She worked for the Los Alamos Schools Superintendent in the 1960s and 70s, a job she loved because of the people with whom she worked, especially then superintendent Duane Smith. Later June worked as an administrative assistant in Lawton, Oklahoma. She retired in 2007, at which time she and her husband Paul returned to New Mexico, settling in Rio Rancho.

For years June loved to sew, do crossword puzzles, play Scrabble, and play bridge (She even taught the neighborhood children to play bridge). She sewed everything – clothes, doll clothes, curtains. But she created too, she never just followed a pattern, she would modify as she went so that even the basic creation was made special. In later years she started quilting: every child and grandchild has a June-made quilt.

Those who knew June will remember her smile, her razor-sharp wit, and her willingness to do anything for those she cared about. She was quick to raise her hand when her children needed a coach, a driver, a teacher, or a cheerleader.

June's sense of humor and whimsy was evident in everything she did. She designed the family home in White Rock to look like a birdhouse because, well, her last name was Bird. The year she managed a girls’ softball team she thought the white shirts were boring, so she accessorized them with blue kerchiefs she made for the entire team one afternoon.

In honor of June, memorial contributions can be made to the Dementia Society of America.

A Graveside Service and Burial will take place at Santa Fe National Cemetery, located at 501 N. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, on Friday, September 23^rd, 2022, beginning at 11:00AM. A Reception will follow at Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, located at 555 W. Cordova Rd., Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505, beginning at 11:30AM- 2:00PM.