It’s with great sorrow that we report the passing of former International Brotherhood of Magicians president, June Horowitz. Current Grand Rapids Ring 211 President, Jeff Brodrick, has confirmed that she died on June 27th. She was 104 years old. 

Born June Olive Warsaw in Chicago on September 12th, 1913, Horowitz was a respected magician and committed member of the magic community throughout her life. Her father was a stage magician, and she would often join him on stage before she found her true calling in close-up magic. She was a regular and welcome presence at Abbott’s Get-Together events. A math teacher by trade, she was the first woman to have a star installed on the Magician’s Walk of Fame in Colon, Michigan. Hers is number ten, between Neil Foster and Karl Carl. 

In 1987, she became the first woman to serve as president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, a position she held for the traditional period of one year. Even as her age climbed into triple digits, she was still an active member of the Grand Rapids IBM Ring 211, better known as the June Horowitz and John DeVries Magic Club. 

Horowitz has been the subject of numerous interviews regarding her life, in and around the magical arts, as well as her experiences in one of the Interlochen Arts Academy’s first camping seasons, but what really caught my eye was this video of her reacting to a trick performed by a young magician.

Everyone here at Genii Online would like to offer our condolences to Horowitz’s family, friends, and fellow magicians of her ring.