Difference between revisions of "June D. Oaks"

Revision as of 16:19, 13 October 2022

June D. Oaks with her family in 1971

June Dixon Oaks was the wife of President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She married him in the Salt Lake Temple on June 24, 1952, and they were the parents of six children.

Sister Oaks was born on March 24, 1933, in Provo, Utah, and was raised in nearby Spanish Fork. She was an identical twin. Although she postponed her college education for her husband’s schooling, she completed a B.S. degree at Brigham Young University in 1965—fourteen years after she entered as a freshman. To realize her dream of a degree, June took her small children to Provo four times to enroll in summer school, completed home-study courses, and transferred credits to BYU from three different midwestern universities.

While her husband served as president of BYU from 1971 to 1980, June hosted countless dignitaries, such as former President Gerald Ford, Supreme Court justices of the United States and the former Soviet Union.

She lived in Illinois for 16 years, the Washington, D.C. area for one year, and in Utah for most of her life.

In addition to supporting her husband in his Church callings and employment, she was active in many arts activities, including serving for eight years by appointment of two Utah governors and the Utah Arts Council. She also served as a board member of the Utah Symphony Guild, and as co-chair of the symphony's Outreach program in the public schools. She passed away on July 21, 1998, after a year-long battle with cancer.