Posted on: Friday, August 17, 2001

June Denny, wife of entertainer, dead at 72

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Staff Writer

June Denny, wife of entertainer Martin Denny, died Monday at her home in Hawai'i Kai after a long illness. She was 72.

The couple met in 1954 at Don the Beachcomber's in Waikiki, where she worked as a cocktail waitress and he originated his jungle sounds. They would have been married for 45 years on Oct. 21.

He wrote a song for her, "I Love You Forever and Ever." A friend, recalling when Martin Denny played it for his wife, commented: "I found myself in a moment of serenity. What a tremendous love and connection these two had traveled over the many years."

June Denny worked as a volunteer at the Queen's Medical Center. Her hobbies were golf, skiing and swimming.

She was born Barbara June Ruppert on June 30, 1929, in rural Washington, where she did farm chores and attended high school.

In 1947, she moved to Hawai'i. While she was working at Don the Beachcomber's, Martin Denny signed on as a piano player at the Dagger Bar where he introduced his exotica music that made his name. The two dated until they were married in 1956.

They have a daughter, Christina. Survivors on the Mainland are a brother, Kenneth Ruppert, and two sisters, Louise Robinson and Vera Roberson.

Services will be held Sunday at the Elks Club. Visitation begins at 1 p.m., with a program taking place at 1:30 p.m. with music and food. The ashes will be taken to sea from Black Point, where the Dennys lived for many years. Donations may be made to charities.