Junior Bearfield

     Junior Bearfield of Hixton, 78, passed away Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at the Black River Memorial Hospital surrounded by family.

     Affectionately known by his friends as “June Bug,” he was never one to shy away from a good time. He loved to tell stories and make people laugh. If you’ve ever met him, he might have tried to introduce himself to you by telling you his “real name” is Ivan Boris-Polias-Nikonovas-Postudinek-Pulaski-Stubblefield-Mission-Mission-Off-Scooterville-Thompson, followed up by “but all my friends call me Junior.”

     He loved a good steak, fishing, dancing his signature dance - the dirty boogie, horseshoes, classic country music, old westerns, Little Debbie cakes and Miller High Life, not necessarily in that order.

     Junior was born May 17, 1944, to Lee and Claire (Atkins) Bearfield in the small town of Whitesville, WV. Born the son of a coal miner, he grew up in a coal mining camp with his three siblings. His mother was a schoolteacher.

     At the age of 18, he moved to Chicago where he worked a few odd jobs but eventually took up the plumbing trade until he left Chicago to resettle in Hixton. It is there that he met the love of his life. Junior was doing the limbo at the Lakeshore Club when Carol Hanson walked in. They sparked up a conversation and the rest is history. They were married Feb. 9, 1974.

     He worked at the Charcoal Plant in Hixton until it closed. After that, he worked for Zuehlke Lumber and Construction until a cancer diagnosis forced him to slow down.

     At the end of his life, Junior was a simple man. He liked to get outdoors, fishing, gardening and riding his lawn mower. Even if you didn’t know him personally, you may have seen him cruising around town on his moped, one of his favorite things to do when the weather was nice.

     Junior is survived by his wife, Carol; son Marty Bearfield; daughters Mary Bearfield and Marcie (Steve) Teeples; six grandchildren, Joel, Adrienne, Mysty, Masyn, Maddox and Easton; and five great-grandchildren.

     He is preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Bobby and Chester; and one sister, Norma Jean.

     Funeral services for Junior will take place Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at 6 p.m. at Jensen-Modjeski Funeral Home. Reverend Terry Marg will officiate. Friends and family are welcome to visitation from 4 p.m. until the time of service.

     The Jensen-Modjeski Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements, 715-963-2311.