Junie Michos died on July 23, 2017 at the age of 87. Junie fed people. All her life, that’s what she did. From the time she was a teenager, schlepping hamburgers in her parents’ iconic Jolly Joan Restaurant, to the years she owned Junie’s Restaurant in Northwest Portland, and decades of hosting lunches and dinners in her Raleigh Hills home, Junie saw that people were well fed.

She came by it naturally. Her mother started and designed the Jolly Joan Restaurant, once the largest restaurant in the Pacific Northwest; she also designed its famous, three story neon sign that dominated Broadway in downtown Portland for four decades. Her parents worked hard; the restaurant was open 24 hours a day. Junie’s beloved father, Thomas Michos (born Michalopoulus), was a Greek immigrant and Junie was proud of her Greek heritage.

She had an idyllic childhood on the family’s large estate in Raleigh Hills, behind Safeway. She and her older sister, Gloria, were raised with horses, cows, dogs, and other livestock, spacious gardens, and a large swimming pool. When the girls were teenagers, their father would call home and ask how many kids were at the pool that day, then bring home Jolly Joan hamburgers and milk shakes for them all.

For practical purposes, she lived all her life in Raleigh Hills. She felt safe there, she said. Junie attended Raleigh Grade School, then a two-room school with only about 28 students and two teachers, Lincoln High School, and Oregon State College, where she pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma. Her heart, though, was in the restaurant; she couldn’t wait to get to work there. She worked her way up the hard way, and was soon in charge of the waitresses and was hostess at the Lariat Lounge. She learned the business inside and out.

She had a gift for friendships. Junie was fiercely loyal, and treasured her friendships from her childhood, to the dear friends made later in life. The loyalty was reciprocated, as was evident by the many friends that came to her bedside in her final days.

Junie was unforgettable; she was attractive, friendly, smart, connected, and sophisticated. She had always loved old, pre-cherished objects, and when a friend asked her to fill in for a few hours at Upper Mercantile, an antiques store Lake Oswego, she accepted, and, inevitably, became a partner in the business. Junie loved cool jazz, the colors orange and yellow, but she usually wore blue to match her electric eyes.

Junie had two sons. She is predeceased by son, Theron (Todd) R. Howser III, and her sister, Gloria Mae Drougas. Junie is survived by her son, Mitchell R. Howser, daughters-in-law Heidi Howser and Teresa Blythe; grandchildren Cameron Howser, Theron Howser IV, and Courtney Howser; five great-grandchildren, nephew, Tom Drougas, Jr., and nieces Holly McDonnell, and Nancy Durkin.

In 1987, she needed a job. She found a property on Northwest 21st Ave. and opened Junie’s Restaurant. For 5 years it had a devoted, almost cultish bevy of loyal customers. She served simple classic American food, impeccably prepared. So meticulous was she, for instance, that she sliced pickles with a potato peeler to get the exact, thin slices for her hamburgers.

The establishment of Junie’s Restaurant was her proudest achievement. It not only was a business success and neighborhood treasure, but, more importantly to her, it fed the locals and gave employment to her Portland community.

She was known for bringing people together for fun, intimate lunch and dinner celebrations in her comfortable, antique filled kitchen. She fed the people she cared for; for her, it was an act of love.

Junie was very loved by her family and friends, and will be greatly missed by so many.