June Kathleen Rainwater's Obituary
JUNE KATHLEEN RAINWATER, 93 of Lovettsville, Virginia passed on Friday, May 9, 2025, in Leesburg, Virginia. Born Friday, October 16, 1931, in Washington, DC., she was the daughter of the late Joseph Wayne Potter and the late Sarah Cliser Potter. June leaves many to cherish her memory including her son, Russell Rainwater, daughters Cathy Mueller and Susan Patton, 7 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, her sister, Carolyn Potter Ingersoll, as well as many friends and extended family of nieces and nephews.
June was born during the Great Depression and watched as her parents lost their radio business but managed to make ends meet. During WWII she saw her father serve the neighborhood as a block captain, making the rounds each night to be sure the shades were drawn tight. She was unaware that her father was actively working at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Silver Spring MD where they lived. He was designing rockets using the new technology called “telemetry”, to increase the accuracy of weapons as they were deployed over Europe.
The family moved to Derwood MD after the war, and June graduated from Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring MD in 1949. They attended the Tacoma Park Lutheran Church and then the St James Lutheran Church during her time at home. After graduation June attended Strayer Business School for 2 years and then married John Rainwater.
June and John moved to Albuquerque New Mexico where they raised their family. June and John also worked for the Sandia Corporation, a defense contractor known for its links to the Los Alamos Labs and the Manhattan Project. In 1963 June and the children moved back to Maryland and settled in Rockville MD. She continued her career at IBM Headquarters in Montgomery Village, working as an executive administrator for over 30 years. She finally moved to Lovettsville and commuted to her job at IBM for many years. Wherever she worked, June was known for her organizational abilities, loyalty, hard work, and dependability. She often reflected on her contributions to the new technologies that were changing our country.
June was an avid reader, and loved biography and history. She would sit in her arm chair, surrounded by books she was reading, especially her Bible. June was a woman of great faith. In Lovettsville she attended the New Jerusalem Lutheran Church whenever her health permitted. Everyday she studied the scriptures, prayed and meditated. We will miss her very much, and will reminisce about her work ethic, determination, good will, and sense of humor.
June leaves many to cherish her memory including her son, Russell Rainwater (Nancy), daughters, Catherine Rainwater and Susan Patton (Bill), sister, Carolyn Potter Ingersoll, grandchildren, Christopher Patton (Fibia), Lindy Jackson (Keith), Curtis Patton (Emy), Eliana Patton, Micaela Patton, Daniel Rainwater (Ashley), David Rainwater (Marissa), and Jeannie Amodo, great grandchildren, William, Joseph, Andrew, Jonathan, Ruthie, Isaac, Abby, Asher, Katelyn, Annie, Emma, Lizzie, Tessa, Nathan, Luke, Charlotte, Nicholas, Micah, Mae, Mercy, and Xail.
The family will receive friends from 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, 12942 Lutheran Church Road, Lovettsville, Virginia. The Funeral service will follow at 2:30 PM. Interment will be in Lovettsville Union Cemetery, Lovettsville, VA.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made in June’s honor to a favorite charity.
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