Marjorie "June" Agan

Marjorie "June" Agan, 90, of Palestine, IL, passed away on June 23, 2026, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, IN. Life dealt her a hand on June 3, 1936, in Martinsville, Illinois, and June spent the next ninety years playing it on her own terms, a habit she picked up early. You could trace it back to Redmon, IL, where she grew up and where she went to high school for exactly one day before coming home to tell her mom she didn't like it. Her mom gave her a choice: go to school or get to work. June chose work, the first of many times she'd decide for herself how things were going to go. At sixteen, she boarded a bus, moved to Robinson, and became a nanny, and not long after, she found the man she'd spend her life building something with.

She married Robert "Bob" Agan on January 11, 1953, and together they brought six children into the world, four girls and two boys. The family eventually settled in Palestine, where June cleaned offices at Fair-Rite and began babysitting area kids, something she'd do off and on for years. She started before she ever became a grandmother and kept right on going once the grandkids arrived, which was only fitting for a woman whose real work was making a home. A good part of that work happened in the kitchen. After all, June could cook. There was fried chicken for the whole family, roast beef done in the pressure cooker with carrots and onions and potatoes, and, of course, chicken and noodles. She never cooked small. A meal at her table could stretch to seven courses, and there was always more than enough. She did the cooking and the kids did the cleaning, an arrangement that held up beautifully until those kids married and realized they had no idea how to piece a meal together, on account of that always being mom's job. Then, with supper behind them and the dishes put away, the table was set for the thing June loved best.

Friday and Saturday nights were for poker. She and Bob played for quarters with friends and family alike. (And woe to anyone who tried to schedule something else on those nights!) The game ran deep into the family's history, far enough back that the kids remember being tucked into bed only to wake the next morning to find the poker friends still going strong. So when Bob passed in 2010, it was no surprise that the cards became a source of real joy and comfort, a way of keeping the table full. Sundays carried it forward with Rummy and Yahtzee, and in the quieter hours, she'd pass the time working jigsaw puzzles.

That quiet didn't carry over to her beloved St. Louis Cardinals, whom she watched faithfully on TV and was downright delighted to see beat up on the Cubs. She had a soft spot for birds, too-all kinds, but especially hummingbirds-and kept feeders out for them along with a little something for the squirrels that wandered up. She had to have a fern every year, and her daughter Vickie saw to it, bringing one every Mother's Day. She loved flowers of every sort and filled her hanging baskets with them, and with Bob's green thumb in the mix, everything grew healthy and full.

For all that nurturing, June could certainly be a firecracker, and nowhere did it show like it did at the poker table. She'd get good and mouthy there, accusing others of cheating and stacking the deck, with a fierceness that only sharpened as her health gave way. She played cards the way she played life: holding nothing back and giving no ground. Which is why, when the last card was turned, nobody was surprised to find she'd played a winning hand.

June is survived by her children, Donna & Doug Barrett, Tina Inboden & partner Lynn Medley, and Vickie & Kyle Waggoner; along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of fifty-seven years, Robert "Bob" Agan; her parents, Clarence & Louise (Thompson) Flenner; her daughter, Diana Agan; and her sons, Don Agan and Tom Agan.

A private graveside service will be held at the Embarrass Cemetery in rural Redmon, IL. Anyone wishing to drop off food for the family may do so Friday afternoon at June’s home in Palestine.

The Goodwine Funeral Home in Palestine is assisting the family at this time.