June Marie Carvell, owner of former Funtown Amusement Park, dies

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June Carvell obit photo. Chicago Sun-Times

Updated: November 9, 2011 12:03PM

When June Marie Carvell was in her 80s, it wasn’t unusual to see her strap on rollerblades and skate around the trails of Evanston.

She was in tip-top shape, skating three or four times a week and going on long walks at a pace her grandkids could not even keep up with.

In 2005, she felt ready for a new challenge: a half-marathon.

At 84 years old, Mrs. Carvell became the oldest woman to compete in the NorthShore Inline Marathon in Minnesota.

She finished the 13.1-mile race without stopping. She also took first place in her division, albeit as the only competitor in that age group.

“When they called her name to stand up on the podium, the place went crazy,” said her son, Cale Carvell. “That was just so exciting. To see her finish — that was a pretty cool thing.”

Mrs. Carvell told an online trade publication at the time: “At my age, you have to keep moving.”

About a month ago, Mrs. Carvell, still in good physical health, told her daughter that she felt tired. Not sleepy, just tired.

Mrs. Carvell died in her sleep that night, Aug. 1, at her residence in Portland, Ore., where she had moved about a year ago to be closer to her daughter. She had just said goodbye to her last group of visitors who came to celebrate her 90th birthday.

For more than 50 years, Mrs. Carvell lived in Evanston and helped run the family’s businesses.

In 1957, she and her husband, the late Allan Carvell Jr., opened the Rainbo Ice Skating Arena.

The rink, at Lawrence and Clark, became quite popular, drawing hundreds of people during open skate sessions. It also served as a practice arena for figure skaters and hockey players.

“The rink for a number of years went all night,” said her daughter, Chrissy Washburn. “The hockey players would go ’til 3 a.m., then they’d make the ice and then the figure skaters would come in at 4 a.m. It was a crazy business.”

Mrs. Carvell also helped manage tennis operations at the Lincoln Park Tennis Club, where her husband, a tennis professional, gave lessons. The two later bought Funtown Amusement Park at 95th and Stony Island, and ran that operation for roughly 10 years.

While her husband brought creativity to their ventures, Mrs. Carvell often took care of the business side.

“She’s the one that held it all together, all the books and scheduling and advertising, all that,” said her son. “She was one of the most efficient, organized people. She got twice as much out of a day than most people do.”

Mrs. Carvell, who grew up in a suburb of St. Louis, showed a little bit of spunk at times. She was not afraid to break a rule if it was all in the name of fun, whether it was jumping into the lake in her underwear or setting off fireworks for the Fourth of July.

During World War II, she once snuck her husband out of a stateside military base by hiding him in the trunk of her car so he could compete in a tennis tournament.

“They contributed so much in whatever they did that those little mischievous jounces they went on really just made people laugh,” Washburn said.

Mrs. Carvell also cared deeply for peace. She helped plan vigils, letter-writing campaigns and educational forums for the Peace and Justice Committee at the Unitarian Church of Evanston. She participated in many anti-war demonstrations in Evanston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

“She was so much against people dying in war and getting injured in war — that just really bothered her,” said Virgina Sayad, co-chair of the committee.

“She walked her talk. When she believed in something, she stuck with it,” said Sandra Robinson, executive operations director at the church. “She was a strong woman who cared deeply about her friends and her family and her church. She was just a strong spirit.”

Mrs. Carvell is preceded in death by a grandson. Aside from her children, she is survived by three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

No services have been planned at her request.

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