The Turquoise Lady book is a memoir of the colorful, creatively spunky life of June Rosenthal. In her nineties, having been blessed with excellent health and extraordinary longevity and still actively selling real estate today, she’s got quite a life story to tell! So, when June’s long-time good friend, artist Kathy Hirshon, the book’s illustrator, suggested she write a book about her Western fashions, June took it to heart. The writings instead soon became an affectionate, written legacy for her family and friends.
In telling the story of the arc of her life, June has set down a series of vignettes beginning with her original interest in Native American culture as an adventurous and self-reliant young girl in Chappaqua, NY. They continue with stories about her family and her first trip to Santa Fe with her husband, Rolf, in 1979, when her fascination began with New Mexico’s arts, geography, climate and multi-cultural history. Also included are some of the many distant countries she visited and the colorful exploits she undertook with her husband and children.
Well-known to her numerous friends and real estate clients in Stamford, CT, as The Turquoise Lady, June turned her long love affair with all things turquoise and the Southwest, into a personal branding that dramatically set her apart from other local real estate agents in Stamford for almost 50 years.
Since June had enjoyed wearing casual western-style clothing long before it was ever a fashion, she smartly “up-styled” it with Southwestern skirts, tops, jackets, boots and accessories for business. Because she and her husband, Rolf, came to Santa Fe each year after 1985 when they purchased their second home in Tesuque, north of Santa Fe, she had the opportunity to buy the fashions and accessories.
Santa Fe, NM, now June Rosenthal’s permanent home, is where her love of turquoise, silver and all things Southwestern began.
Kathy Hirshon, the book’s illustrator, has been June’s friends for over 25 years from both their days as residents of Stamford, CT. Kathy is a noted artist and came to Santa Fe to pursue her painting full time in 2010. She actively encouraged June to write The Turquoise Lady, and graciously suggested that she would illustrate the volume. Kathy and her husband, Ken, live in Santa Fe and visit frequently with their dear friend, June.