Minnesota Veterans Homes - Minneapolis expresses its gratitude to Jean Osborne and June Hyman for their generous $10,000 donation designed to help enhance the daily activities of its Residents. Jean and June were lifelong friends who were passionate about supporting charities they believed in. The donation was organized by Jean’s niece, Sarah Flint.

Interestingly, this legacy gift came about based on an ordinary, everyday discussion between Sarah and a Minneapolis Veterans Home volunteer, Sue Gunaca.

“It’s amazing how a casual conversation can lead to new, meaningful relationships and unexpected opportunities to impact other people’s lives,” said Cheryl Garrison, Public Affairs Director, Minneapolis Veterans Home. “That conversation between Sarah and Sue led to a significant legacy gift from Jean and June that will fund Resident cable TV programming this year; access to this programming provides topics that Residents can discuss with fellow Veterans and connects them to people and places all over the world from the comfort of their home.”

Jean and June grew up in Sheffield, England before moving to Cambridge to become maids. Ultimately, they traveled to New York, where they worked again as maids and nannies before moving to Minnesota and becoming U.S. citizens. After several years passed, Jean and June left their roles as maids/nannies and were both hired by an audio products manufacturer called Qualiton, where they worked for 30 years.

Sarah described Jean and June as amazing ladies who loved to travel across the United States and Mexico, loved their houseful of pets and always gave their best to their families, friends, neighbors, jobs and communities. Working hard and living within their means allowed Jean and June to give to several organizations with missions to which they felt connected.

“My dad was in the Navy when his sister, my Aunt Jean, was a teenager; his military service had quite an effect on her as they were always close and my dad acted more like a father figure to her than a brother,” said Sarah. “Jean and June were very patriotic, which is a reason they both chose to support the Minneapolis Veterans Home. This legacy gift is a way for them to give back to those who have given so much to the adopted country they love so much. It will also keep the memory alive of all the people involved.”

While June passed away 10 years ago, the donation is from Jean and June. Neither of them had relatives living at the Minneapolis Veterans Home.

Learn more about donating to Minnesota Veterans Homes, State Veterans Cemeteries or special funding initiatives that support our Veterans and their loved ones at our Donate page.