Elda "June" Bredehoft

Elda (known by her middle name as June) was born on June 24, 1934, to parents John William Barnts and Wilhelmina “Minnie” (Volz) Barnts.  She grew up on a homestead two miles east of Stoneham, Colorado. June was the youngest of seven children, which included two sets of twins. During her childhood, she attended Stoneham public schools and graduated in 1952. After high school, June went on to attend Northeastern Junior College in Sterling and Colorado State College in Greeley.

On May 1, 1960, June married LeRoy Gene Bredehoft. They lived in the Atwood/Sterling area until 1980 when they moved to Fort Collins. On June10, 1986, LeRoy passed away. In 1999, Elda retired and spent the next 8 years living in Clearwater, Florida to be near her daughter.  After her daughter passed in 2007, she returned to the Fort Collins area.

June worked in a variety of jobs, including dispatching for the Colorado State Patrol.  Later she found she had a passion for the mental health field and held several positions at the Centennial Mental Health Center in Sterling from 1963-1981. June spent another two and a half years as an administrative assistant at the Larimer County Mental Health Center until she retired after LeRoy passed. She then moved to Florida where she worked at the Northside Hospital in Florida for an additional two and a half years and also volunteered there.

During her career in mental health, Elda established the “Colorado Mental Health Associates”, a statewide organization to help train and support administrative assistants working in mental health facilities. The training manual she wrote was distributed throughout Colorado and the nation.  

June was a member of Saint John’s Lutheran Church in Fort Collins. She was also a long-standing member of the America Legion Auxiliary Post 20 as well as the Women of the Moose, serving as a musician for both organizations for many years. She played the piano at several state-wide gatherings of the American Legion. Throughout her life, June was active in many other volunteer positions.

June loved playing her piano and was a very talented pianist. She could be heard playing the piano beautifully wherever she lived.  She also had a passion to write, and she wrote poems and narratives throughout her life. She was proud of her heritage and documented her life and linage through her writings, research, and photographs.

June was proceeded in death by her husband Leroy; her parents John and Wilhelmina Barnts; her six siblings Howard, Lewis, Elenor, Harriet, Evelyn, Edith; and her daughter, Sonja Deanne.

June is survived by her sons and daughter-in laws John and Judi Bredehoft, Bud and Carla Bredehoft, (both of Fort Collins); Terri Allen (of Sterling); 7 grandsons and 3 granddaughters; and 24 great grandchildren.

June’s faith was very important to her, she loved Jesus Christ, and received communion until her last days. She treasured the thought that she was a child of God.  May she rest in peace.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to a cause or charity of your choice.