“I didn’t expect to live this long,” June Ulffers said many times in the past decade, and her great run wrapped up Nov. 15 at her home in Salem after a brief illness. She was 100.

June Kathleen Oliver was born June 9, 1925, in Bergen County, N.J., the sixth of seven children of Robert and Anna (Kelly) Oliver. She was the last sibling remaining.

June was a survivor. She endured scarlet fever at age 5 before antibiotics were available, two broken hips in her 70s, colon cancer in her 80s, and COVID-19 in her 90s. A child of the Depression, she made the most of everything she had in life and would repurpose a sheet of aluminum foil until it cried for mercy. The first two words of the motto “Reduce, reuse, recycle” were June’s credo before marketing got ahold of them.

In her heart, June was a Jersey girl until the end, even though she lived in Salem for many years. She volunteered at the first Salem Apple Festival and was a Girl Scout troop leader from Brownies through Juniors. Later, she delivered Meals on Wheels. 

June returned to the workforce after raising her children and worked in secretarial roles at Congregation Ahavath Achim, Amston Electric and Unidyne Corporation. She prided herself in always being in tune to current events, challenging people to ask her to name all nine Supreme Court justices. She was a devotee of the PBS “NewsHour” and NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.” She loved everything about her town library and until her last days always could be found reading a large-print book. Her secret to longevity was to never stop being curious about other people and all that’s going on in the world. She was a New York Baseball Giants fan, often going to games at the Polo Grounds with her dad. When that team deserted her, she adopted the Mets and would listen to their games on AM radio.

She loved animals, opening her home to many cats and dogs over the years. She was happy that despite becoming a grandmother at nearly age 75, she was able to watch her grandchildren grow up and that they will have lifelong memories of her. 

June leaves her son and caregiver, Stephen Ulffers, of Salem; her daughter, Susan Banning, and her husband, Chuck, of Colchester; her grandchildren, Caroline, Alison and Luke Banning; her sister-in-law, Joan Kelliher of Kerrville, Texas; and many nieces and nephews. June was predeceased by her husband, Louis Ulffers; they were married 55 years (despite him being a Brooklyn Dodgers and later Red Sox fan) when he died.

Services are private. Donations in June’s memory are suggested to be made to the donor’s favorite animal shelter.