June Daphne, Lady Blundell (née Halligan, 19 June 1922 – 31 October 2012) was the wife of Sir Denis Blundell, former Governor-General of New Zealand. She was known in her own right for her extensive community activism and welfare work.

Biography

Lady Blundell was active on behalf of the Order of St John as Vice-Patron and later Patron of the St John Northern Region Branch and had a devoted interest in St John Youth. In 1972 Lady Blundell was appointed Commander of the Order of Saint John (CStJ), in 1988 promoted to Dame of Justice of the Order of Saint John (DStJ) and in 2004 promoted to Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint John (GCStJ). In 1977, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. At the end of Sir Denis's term of office as Governor-General of New Zealand Lady Blundell was recognised for her service to New Zealand on 1 November 1977 and appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service. On 6 February 1988 Lady Blundell was the sixth appointee to the Order of New Zealand."The Order of New Zealand" (12 February 1988) 23 ''

New Zealand Gazette The ''New Zealand Gazette'' ( mi, Te Kāhiti o Aotearoa), commonly referred to as ''Gazette'', is the official newspaper of record (Government gazette) of the New Zealand Government. Published since 1840, it is the longest-running publication i ...

'' 447 at 448. In 1990, she was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Activism

She was heavily involved in the Cancer Foundation of New Zealand for many years. She was the founding Patron of the Child Cancer Foundation, contributed to the instigation of

CanTeen {{Primary sources, date=February 2007 Canteen is an Australian national support organisation for young people (aged 12–25) living with cancer; including cancer patients, their brothers and sisters, and young people with parents or primary carers ...

, was active with the Homai College for the Blind,

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

New Zealand and the Asthma Society of New Zealand.

Family

June and Denis Blundell married in 1945. They had a son and a daughter. Denis Blundell died in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, in 1984. Lady Blundell died on 31 October 2012 aged 90 at

Auckland Hospital Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...

following a brief illness.

Honours

*: Order of New Zealand (ONZ) * Ribbon bar of the Queen's Service Medal

Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

(QSO) *:

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(GCStJ)

References

External links

Statement on the website of the Governor-General of New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blundell, June 1922 births 2012 deaths Companions of the Queen's Service Order Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John Members of the Order of New Zealand Spouses of New Zealand Governors-General