Diana J. Soule (aka “June”) was born in Tulare, CA, February 28, 1945, and passed on from her earthly existence on June 24, 2026, in Saint Louis, MO, where she lived for over fifty-five years.
Diana grew up in Parkville, MO, a small town outside Kansas City, where she lived with her parents, younger sister, and their horses, dogs, and cats. Her father was a professor of religion and philosophy at a nearby college, and her mother was a homemaker who wrote short stories in her spare time. Her parents were intellectuals and worldly – her father was born and raised in South Korea – and they valued education. Weekly Sunday dinners included her father’s international students, for in-depth conversations on culture, religion and politics. Their family life was rich with travel and outdoor adventures, regularly visiting the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks for camping, canoeing and fishing, and frequent road trips throughout Colorado, the Southwest, and Southern California, to visit with beloved aunts, uncles and cousins, where they hiked, swam and picked blueberries and oranges.
Diana was extremely bright, deeply literate, and an exceptional student. She spent much of her youth reading and writing at the local stable where she helped care for the horses, along with the stableman, who was a special mentor. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology from Grinnell College, and later in life, her master’s in social work from Washington University in St. Louis.
In her mid-20s, following a brief marriage and divorce, June – who adopted her middle name after rooming with a friend named Diana – moved to St. Louis, Missouri, to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer on inner-city anti-poverty initiatives and community preservation projects. She found a job teaching English in a school for at-risk adolescent boys in a residential treatment facility, which led to a life-long career as a licensed clinical social worker with several private and private/public agencies, working with abused and neglected children and their families. Later in her career she worked as a hospice counselor, which she found especially emotionally fulfilling. After retirement, she worked part-time as a landscaper and volunteered as an English teacher for a local immigrants’ support organization.
In the early 70s, June gave birth to her one and only daughter, whom she raised on her own as a single parent, initially in an urban commune in Lafayette Square, and then in the 80’s in the Benton Park neighborhood where she shared a home with an artist friend. In mid-life, June reconnected with her spirituality and began attending the local Quaker Friends Meeting. Her social life expanded with close circles of friends, with whom she enjoyed potluck get-togethers watching films, discussing books, playing scrabble and card games. Later, with her granddaughter, she cherished time riding horses, carving pumpkins, and going to the Zoo.
A Service of Kutis Funeral Home, City Chapel, 2906 Gravois Ave., Saint Louis, MO 63118