June B. Dorris

June Black Dorris, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and educator, passed away on December 26, 2025, at the age of 89. June was known for her sparkling determination, her deep commitment to early childhood education, the way she covered her mouth when she giggled, and most of all, for her love. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 2, 2026, from 2-8pm with family greeting guests from 5-7pm at Dighton Marler Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at 11am at World Harvest Church in Stillwater. Interment will follow at Pleasant View Cemetery in Jet, Oklahoma. www.dightonmarler.com.

June Ilene Blackledge was born in Jet, Oklahoma, on June 2, 1936, the sixteenth anniversary of her parents, Herschel and Hilda Blackledge. June grew up on a dairy farm with her parents and older siblings Delmar Dale Blackledge, Velda Gale George, and George Gilbert Blackledge. In high school, she overcame her shyness and a speech impediment by excelling at speech and debate. June used that determination to shine as a basketball player in high school and in her studies at Oklahoma State University, where she ultimately acquired both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.

June married Floyd M. Black in December 1956. The marriage lasted for 20 years. The couple had three children: Rick Black, Debbie Matlock, and Deedee Rice. At this time, June was the preschool teacher at Highland Park Methodist Church. When the superintendent of Stillwater Public Schools attended her classroom, he was so impressed that he not only asked her to become a kindergarten teacher, and he even asked her to develop Stillwater’s first public school kindergarten program. In her more than 35 years of teaching, June won teacher of the year twice, and she taught hundreds of children; anytime she was out in Stillwater, former students would come up to her just to tell her how much she meant to them. She mentored other teachers and was a lifelong learner. June was especially proud when she and her close friend and team teacher, Linda Bruder, attended a workshop at NASA.

June married Nathaniel Richmond “Dick” Dorris on June 28, 1980. Dick brought two children into the blended family: Rick Dorris and Fran Guardo. June and Dick had been married for 45 years at the time of June’s passing. They loved teaching Bible Study classes together, and June volunteered for her church as an usher and mentor. June said it was one of the greatest delights of her life to mentor young women. She also adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. June kept every program and flyer from her grandchildren’s activities and performances, and she would do absolutely anything to help her family.

June loved many things in life: Jesus, gingerbread men decorations, reading aloud to children, and “ooey-gooey” (dessert). She taught us the importance of integrity, and to root with all our hearts for our teams (hers were the OSU Cowboys and the Thunder), and that ice cream before dinner is perfectly acceptable, and what selfless love really looks like. She had an almost magical ability to make people in her life feel that they were truly loved and accepted. She listened deeply and gave willingly of her whole heart, including all her time and resources, not only to family, but to everyone she encountered. She demonstrated what deep faith in Jesus looked like, and her prayers will reverberate throughout all eternity.

June is survived by her husband, Nathaniel Richmond Dorris; by her son and daughter-in-law Rick & Lisa Black; by her daughters and sons-in-law Debbie & Don Matlock and Deedee & Allen Rice; by her daughter-in-law Darla Black; by her stepchildren and their spouses Rick & Julie Dorris and Fran & Mariano Guardo; by her grandchildren and their spouses Lauren (Black) Waterhouse, Clint & Jordan Black, Nikki (Matlock) & Thomas Swift, Jeremy & Hannah Matlock, Courtney (Matlock) Griffin, Cherith (Rice) & Michael Ferguson, Deah (Rice) & Jasper Abbott, Lyndsay (Dorris) & Jeff Briscoe, Bianca (Guardo) Martindale, Vanessa Guardo, and Oliver Guardo. Her great-grandchildren are Elizabeth, Hannah, & John Waterhouse; Hudson, Lawson, & Sadie Black; Matthew Swift; Emelia & Emery Matlock; Maddi, Peyton, & Carter Griffin; Eliot & Carys Ferguson; Alyosha Abbott; Sylvia Briscoe; and Aila Martindale. June’s life theme was “faith, hope, and love.” We know that her great faith in God has finally allowed her to fulfill her high hope of embracing Jesus in Heaven, and we celebrate the love she shared to everyone whose lives she touched. We will deeply miss June, our teacher, Momma, Grandmommie, and GG.

Memorial contributions can be made in June’s name to World Harvest Church.