Ушла из жизни основательница духового оркестра «Vernon Girls Trumpet Band» Джун Ригби

Instrumental member mourned by Vernon Girls Trumpet Band Published 8:00 pm Thursday, August 13, 2026 A low note is being felt among the community upon the passing of an important figure who helped shape the lives of many young women. June Rigby died Saturday, Aug. 8 at the age of 88, in her home. The community-minded woman was a beloved and instrumental part of the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band. “After being a band girl herself, she followed in the footsteps of her father to become our Band Director for many, many years,” the band Alumni shared. “The band and the sisterhood it created were such a meaningful part of June’s life.” Rigby’s father, Bob Hodgson, founded the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band in 1947, 13 years before the first Vernon Winter Carnival in 1960. Donna Cornell met Rigby when she was just 10 years old when she joined the band. “Mrs. Rigby was just such a calm effect but she got things done and the band was a very, very, very special entity in peoples’ life,” said Cornell, now 63. “Especially since most of us were in the band as children.” Sticking with the band until they were around 18, the most formative years of their lives were spent with Rigby guiding them. “They made our lives so much better, learning music, learning how to get along with other girls. It’s made me who I am,” said Cornell. Rigby was also heavily involved with Girl Guides and Vernon Winter Carnival. “She definitely did a lot for this community,” said Cornell, who got a lot of help from Rigby directing the new band Alumni. “She would ask me, ‘so how did the Armstrong fair parade go?’ And ‘how did practice go tonight?’ “It’s a real sisterhood. She kept it that way.” The Alumni, all adults now, consists of approximately 20 members, including a woman from the Cranbrook girls band. They are planning a celebration of life for Rigby sometime near the end of September or early to mid October. She is predeceased by her daughter Cathy Sim (née Rigby), who died at 62 from an aneurysm in 2022. “June once said, ‘I will always be there for my girls. You know what they say, best friends are forever,'” the band said. “Those words so beautifully capture the love she had for the girls and the special bond we have all shared throughout the years. She was there for us, and we will carry her love, memories, music and spirit of the band with every step we continue to march and every tune we play.”