June Culp Zeitner (February 7, 1916 – October 11, 2009) was an American non-fiction writer who authored a dozen books and over 1,000 articles about

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

s. She is the namesake of the June Culp Zeitner Emerald, the largest

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

found and cut in the United States.

Life

Zeitner was born on February 7, 1916, in Michigan as June Culp. She graduated from

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional programs, 23 certifi ...

. Zeitner began her career as an English teacher in

Mission, South Dakota Mission is a city on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in northern Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,156 at the 2020 census. Mission is home of the Sinte Gleska University. It is the largest incorporated community in ...

, in 1937, and she lived in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, from 1986 to 2009. Over the course of her career, she authored a dozen books and over 1,000 articles about

s. She was also an editor at ''

Lapidary Journal The ''Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist'' is an American magazine dedicated to lapidary interests such as gemology, jewelry design, metalworking, mineralogy, rocks, and gemstones. The magazine was established in 1947 as the ''Lapidary Journal'', and ...

'' for three decades. Zeitner married Albert Zeitner. She died on October 11, 2009, in Rapid City, South Dakota, at age 93. She is the namesake of the June Culp Zeitner Emerald, the largest

found and cut in the United States.

References

1916 births 2009 deaths People from Rapid City, South Dakota Northern State University alumni Writers from South Dakota 20th-century American non-fiction writers {{US-nonfiction-writer-stub