A few years ago, June Watson, beloved mother and grandmother of Debbie and Joy, lost her husband Ken to an aggressive form of leukaemia.
June had always been the strong backbone of the Watson family — loving, nurturing and gently guiding her family through kindness and daily prayer. Ken was a good provider, decision-maker and devoted caregiver to his wife. When he passed away, June lost the love of her life, and with him much of her will and strength to live.
After the first shock and heartache of Ken’s passing, June moved into a retirement home. A short time later she fell, suffered a stroke and was found to be severely dehydrated. Her memory was also declining rapidly due to an aggressive form of Alzheimer’s, and she became paralysed in her legs.
Choosing care at home
After two weeks in hospital, the family was told June did not have long to live. They decided not to return her to the retirement home. Instead, June moved into her daughter Debbie’s home with a full-time, live-in caregiver.
Within one month she began to improve. For the first five months she often could not remember Debbie and Joy, but when they looked into her face they could see that she was at peace — and sometimes caught the familiar sparkle in her eye.
After seven months of constant loving care, prayer and faith, June had improved immensely. She began speaking a little, smiled often and celebrated her 80th birthday in 2013 — despite having initially been given only two or three months to live.
A haven for other families
That difficult experience showed the family how heartbreaking it can be when someone can no longer care for themselves and loved ones must decide what happens next.
They knew they wanted to offer other mothers, grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers the same committed love and attentive care. It felt only right to name the home after the woman who inspired it: Junes Haven.