After beating Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2001, Tracy June knew her life was meant to be lived to the fullest. Upon completing chemo and declared cancer-free, Tracy and her husband, Jeffrey, took a trip to Scotland to celebrate. There, they found inspiration for a beautiful idea. They decided to create an oasis in their basement: a Scottish-inspired pub called the Tipsy Turtle.
Construction began in 2010. Tracy describes the process as pay-as-you-go, working on a little piece at a time whenever they got a bonus or had extra money lying around.
Unfortunately, construction came to an abrupt halt in 2017 when cancer struck again, this time a rare carcinosarcoma, or malignant tumor, attacking Tracy’s liver. She was lucky – the cancer was caught early, and her doctors developed an aggressive plan.
After completing the final round of chemo, the family was hit by bad news yet again; Tracy’s 21-year-old daughter, Arabella, found a lump in her shoulder which revealed to be Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the same cancer Tracy beat almost two decades earlier. But strength runs in the family, and Arabella was cancer-free shortly after.
Hardship after hardship, it was time to rebuild and move on. But moving was not an option. The Junes have lived in their Grove City home for 20 years, and two of their three children were born there.
Despite all the good memories, it’s also a home with plenty of tough memories. Tracy says cancer survivors often need a reset moment in their lives – both she and Arabella felt that.
“It’s kind of a renewal of life. My daughter needed to move out to start fresh, but the pub is what I needed,” says Tracy. “My husband and I decided, let’s go ahead and finish this. Whatever we need to do to get it done.”
They started again with renewed vigor, this time with the help of hired artisans.
Walking down the steps into the Tipsy Turtle is like walking into a different world. There are plenty of special details hidden throughout the pub, like a stone archway, custom Celtic tiles featuring turtles and faux stone walls. Guests can sit on reupholstered church pews, play shuffleboard and pool, and watch sports on the TV.
Every detail has been attended to, from the pallet wood ceilings and barn doors to the bathroom and the hand-stained and wallpapered staircase. It has surpassed Tracy’s dream.
“If the basement ended up 75 percent of what I had in my head, I would have considered it a success,” she says. “Jeffrey asked, ‘Where are we at?’ and I said 125 percent. We have gone above and beyond whatever I thought this place could be.”
Sarah Robinson is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
