OBITUARIES OF ALASKA'S PIONEERS (A - D) As extracted from "END OF THE TRAIL" a feature article of Alaska - The Magazine of Life on the Last Frontier William Morris III, Publisher and Ken Marsh, Editor Editorial and Advertising Main Offices 4220 B St., Suite 210 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Extracted and contributed by Melanie Cox , with permission expressly granted by Ken Marsh, Editor - Beginning April 5, 1997 USGenWeb Project NOTICE In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express written permission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist. For specific word searches, use the "Find" or "Search" feature of your browser. End of the Trail Courtesy of Alaska - The Magazine of Life on the Last Frontier Founded in 1935 as The Alaska Sportsman Notices are limited, because of space, to names of those who have achieved pioneer status through many years in the North, or who have made significant contributions to the state. (Items in parenthesis added by Melanie Cox to indicate year of death and edition date of magazine in which the extracted article can be found.) SURNAME INDEX: ACEVEDA thru DUNN ACEVEDA, ROY AVENA SR. 91, died Jan 22 (1996) in Kake. Aceveda came in 1936 to Kodiak, where he worked as an accountant in a cannery. He was a civic leader in Kake, and was president of the Filipino Community in Juneau. He was a chef at the Baranof Hotel in Juneau for 17 years. (5-6/96) ADAMS, BETTY JUNE 72, an active member of the Chugiak Senior Center since 1978, died May 12 (1995) at her Eagle River home. She was a member of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve during World War II, and a fire dispatcher in Montana before coming in 1954 to Alaska, where she worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Palmer, Tanacross and McGrath. She also was a computer operator through the `70s. Her family said, "She raised six kids in the middle of Alaska and still had a great sense of humor." (9/95) AHLSTROM, CAROLYN L. 80, a former Alaska Railroad timekeeper, died Oct. 8 (1994) in Dunnellon, Fla. She managed a credit union in Anchorage, held a national office in the Emblem Club, and homesteaded at Kenai with her husband, Carl. (3/95) ALMQUIST, LESLIE W. 91, who managed the Northern Commercial Co. hardware department in Fairbanks for 38 years, died in November 1994. In addition to tools, his department sold Caterpillar bulldozers and tractors, Star cars, Dodge trucks, mining machinery and airplanes. He recalled that he used to fill rush orders for 500 feet of wire rope, measuring it by pulling it down Second Avenue. (7/95) ANDERSON, CARL V. 89, died Dec. 2 (1995) in Washington. Born in Sweden, he came to the United States in 1931, and came to Alaska in 1932 to find his fortune in the Nome gold fields, working for many years as a dredger. He also worked as a U.S. marshal in Nome. For 20 years, he was employed by the Federal Aviation Administration in Nome, Moses Point and Cantwell. (3/96) ANDERSON, ELTON M. Loner rancher Elton M. Anderson, 75, died April 27 (1995) in Homer. Anderson and his wife, Edna, built a home and ran a cattle and horse operation on a grazing lease in the hills north of Homer long before there were any neighbors nearby. Eventually they bought part of the property--reported to be the state's first grazing lease--but not before much of the surrounding land had been subdivided into small parcels. Though the nearness of neighbors sometimes put a crimp in his ranching operation, Anderson befriended the newcomers and touched their lives in ways he probably never knew. Former neighbor Adele Hiles, who moved several years ago to Arizona, kept in touch and spoke to him by phone the week before he died, another neighbor said. Hiles wrote a poem for him, which was printed on the back of the memorial service program. Homer troubadour Hobo Jim Varsos, another former neighbor, memorialized Anderson in song several years ago. After Anderson's death, he wrote another song that was read at the memorial service. Current neighbor Chat Wise built the casket for Anderson, and another neighbor, Kiki Abrahamson, lined it. Anderson made a lot of friends in his 35 years in Alaska. According to this family, Anderson spent countless hours helping and advising the young families who settled nearby, sharing his knowledge of farming and homesteading. In addition to helping his neighbors, Anderson helped start the Happy Valley Rodeo and provided stock for several of the events for many years. He raised cattle and horses there until his death, but to supplement the family income he spent many winters working in road and oil-field construction. He accompanied the first Caterpillar train to the North Slope and the Beaufort Sea. Anderson retired from construction work in 1984. --Jan O'Meara, Homer News [photo] (8/95) ANDREWS, JOHN D. a longtime Alaskan, died April 30 (1996) in Anchorage. Born in England, Andrews came to Alaska in 1937 on a fishing boat. He worked for the Alaska Railroad, and was a self-employed advertising salesman for 20 years. Andrews also retired from the New York Life Insurance Co. He loved to play cribbage and bridge, and was an avid fisherman. Andrews was a member of the Pioneers of Alaska and the American Legion. (9/96) ARMSTRONG, ROBERT ROLLAND "ARMY" 85, died Dec. 16 (1995) in New Mexico. A First Presbyterian minister, he served first in Fairbanks in 1940, later in Anchorage and Juneau. From 1950 to 1956, he served the whole territory. In 1955 he was elected a delegate-at- large to the Alaska Constitutional Convention. He was president of Sheldon Jackson High School and Junior College in Sitka from 1956 to 1966. (5-6/96) BACH, EDWARD E. 86, died July 12 (1996) in California. Bach first came to Alaska in 1938 to work for the fishing industry in Bristol Bay. He then moved in 1940 to Anchorage where he helped build the 4th Avenue Theatre and many military buildings in the area. He used his G.I. bill to go to Optometry school, practicing in Anchorage until his retirement in 1987. Bach was an avid photographer and traveler. (11/96) BAILEY, ANN H. 79, died Jan. 22 (1996) in Ohio. She lived in Ketchikan, and worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Petersburg and Juneau until retiring in 1971 to a homestead at point Agassiz. Her nine years at Point Agassiz were the subject of a two-art article in Alaska magazine in 1980. She returned to Petersburg, where she worked and was active in the cultural, religious and business communities. (5-6/96) BARGE, EDWARD JACK 81, died Jan. 3 (1996) in Talkeetna. At age 15 he skied away from the Catholic mission school at Holy Cross where he was raised. Accompanied by his dog, he journeyed 70 miles to Flat, where he worked at a mine. During his lifetime he worked as a pilot for Star Airways, which became Alaska Airlines; worked as a miner, pioneered roads all over Alaska; and owned Barge Air Service. (4/96) BELL, FLORENCE Guardian Angel - Best Known for delivering more than 100 babies during 32 years in the tiny Southeast town of Kake, Florence "Ma" Bell, 97, died Oct. 9 (1994) in Gardiner, Maine, her birthplace. In her early years, Bell worked as a nurse and nursing instructor in hospitals and schools on the East Coast and in the South. After her first husband died, Bell joined the U.S. Public Health Service which sent her to Alaska on the U.S.S. Hygiene. She soon settled in Kake, where she met and married Raymond Bell, proprietor of the town's only store. Bell helped her husband run the store. "She had a candy section that was the best around," said Ronelle Beardslee, now of Petersburg, "but she would close it during lunch, from 12 to 1, because she was worried about the health of the kids." Beardslee said Bell, who wasn't intimidated by anyone, was considered the community's matriarch. "We called her Ma Ball," said Kake Mayor Lonnie Anderson, who lived next door to the Bells. With no doctor in Kake and no roads to other towns, Bell's role as nurse and midwife was critical to the community. "She saved people's lives, you bet she did," said Lois Berkeley of Kake. When Ray Bell died in 1978, Florence Bell retired to Petersburg. In 1990 the Kake Fire Department escorted her back to Kake for a reception in her honor, where most of the 110 people she had delivered each presented her with a rose. "She could recall every one of them by name," said Marvin Kadake, a family friend. In 1991, the Alaska Legislature presented her with a citation for humanitarianism, for years of donating food, boat travel and even power from the Bells' own generator when the community was in need. The citation lauded her for watching over Kake "like an angel." - Bob Schwoch, Petersburg Pilot [photo] (3/95) BIEDERMAN, CHARLIE 76, Alaska’s last surviving sled dog mail carrier, died Feb. 22 (1995) in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks resident delivered mail between Circle City and Eagle, a route that took him and his eight dogs six days each way, hauling 500 pounds of mail during the winters of 1936 through 1938, when airplanes took over. Last January Biederman traveled to Washington, D.C., where his 12-foot hickory sled was readied for the National Postal Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution. (7/95) BIERY, GALEN 83, a former Petersburg resident who was called a "walking repository of cannery history," died Sept. 26 (1994) in Washington. He and Rosamonde Van Miert wrote two books about the fishing industry. An exhibition of some of Biery's thousands of photos was held last year at the Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham, Wash. (2/95) BOOTH, CORA LANG 91, longtime Sitka resident, died Sept. 18 (1994) in Sitka. Born in Metlakatla, she graduated from Portland University. She was town secretary of Metlakatla during the early 1940s, and helped draw up Metlakatla's town constitution. She also was a teacher and dormitory matron at Mount Edgecumbe High School from 1954 to 1984. (2/95) BOOTH, VIOLET ALICE 84, died Jan. 5 (1996) in Metlakatla. She was active in church and Tsimshian cultural activities, and was a strong supporter of basketball. Survived by 19 children and one foster son, she was voted Mother of the Year twice in 1975. (5-6/96) BOQUIST, HELGE A. 90, died July 4 (1996) in Anchorage. Born in Sweden, Boquist arrived in 1928 in Alaska where he worked as a trapper in the Interior and for the Alaska Road Commission. He mined for gold at Preacher Creek and alter at the Chatanika Gold Dredge. He enjoyed working in his vegetable garden, reading history books on Sweden and playing pinochle. (11/96) BRADLEY, PAT 84, died Dec. 27 (1995) at her Matanuska Valley home. Arriving in Anchorage in 1942, she often cooked at construction sites where her husband worked. In 1949 the couple moved to a farm and raised potatoes until starting a small dairy business, which they operated until the 1970s. (5-6/96) BRADY, WILLIAM "BILL" 73, died Nov. 14 (1995) in Sitka. He is perhaps best known for his service as the first chief judge of the Sitka Tribal Court. One of his decisions went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and established precedent that the Indian Child Welfare Act applies to all Alaska Native children. In his earlier days, Judge Brady joined the Alaska National Guard, becoming the first Alaska Native to be commissioned a second lieutenant. He also built a fishing boat, the Actor II, and bought The Tackle Shop in the mid-1960s. Judge Brady was a past president of the Shee Atika Corp., and influenced the development of culturally appropriate substance abuse treatment in Alaska. (3/96) BRAUN, FREDERICK J. 87, a longtime Anchorage resident, died March 1 (1996) in Washington. Born in Canada, he moved to Alaska in 1935 to manage the Alaska Railroad Hospital in Anchorage. After returning from the railroad in 1967, he and his wife, Irene, traveled all over the world. He was a past president of Pioneers of Alaska (Igloo No. 15), and was a charter member of the Anchorage Kennel Club. (7/96) BRINK, MINNIE M. 98, died Jan. 30 (1996) at the Palmer Pioneers' Home. Born in Nome, she was a housewife who gave her time to family, community and church. She is survived by five of her 10 children, 43 grandchildren, 82 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great- grandchildren. (5-6-/96) BROWN, IDA VIOLET 75, a longtime Sitka resident whose Tlingit name was Koowaa, died Sept. 29 (1994) at the Sitka Pioneers' Home. An expert seamstress, she sewed Salvation Army uniforms for many years. She also did tailoring, and helped her husband with their upholstery business, shoe store and shoe repair shop. She had a high soprano voice that was a pleasure to hear. (2/95) CARROLL, ERMA JOSEPHINE 94, died Feb. 29 (1996) in Homer. Born in Maine, she moved to Alaska in 1924. She and husband Fred owned the 12th Ave. Electric Co. in Fairbanks, and she was a charter member of the Fairbanks Weavers Guild. The family moved to Homer in 1954. (7/96) CASEY, HERBERT F. 88, an Anchorage resident since 1949, died May 4 (1995) at the Anchorage Pioneers' Home. He worked in building maintenance for the Lathrop Co., and gave many individuals their first jobs. (8/95) CARTER, MARY 84, died Nov. 6 (1995) in North Pole. She came to Alaska in 1946. During her many years in Fairbanks, she owned and operated many enterprises, including a tailoring business. Her sewing career began in Hollywood, Calif., where she was the lead seamstress for Edith Head. Many of the ballroom gowns and tuxedos in the early movies were created by Carter. (3/96) CHERCASEN, DOROFEY "RUSTY" 80, of Nikolski on Umnak Island in the Aleutians, died Oct. 23 (1994) in Anchorage. In an interview four years ago, Chercasen described the amazement Nikolski villagers felt in 1924 when ranchers imported 2,000 sheep and a handful of cows and horses, the first farm animals the residents had ever seen. Chercasen's first job was rounding up sheep for $1 a day. He soon stowed away on a ship carrying other village men to St. Paul to work in the sealing industry. "I worked all summer and came back with $5," he chuckled. "All the rest was gone in gambling and candy. I was just a kid, you know." (3/95) CHRISTENSEN, NORA B. 87, died Feb. 2 (1995) in Anchorage. Starting in 1929, she taught school, worked as a prospector, and was postmaster in Kenai, Cooper Landing and Clam Gulch, where she and her husband, Walt, owned and operated Calm Gulch Store until 1975. (8/95) CLARK, CARL M. 88, died Jan. 20 (1996) in Peters Creek. Arriving with his family in Seward in 1913, he rode by dogsled in his mother's lap to Hope. According to his family, he was Hope's longest resident. He and his brother had a boating service across Turnagain Arm, and he had worked as a railroad gandy-dancer, gold miner, commercial fisherman and hunting guide. (5-6/96) CLAUS, NANCY LOU 59, a culinary worker, died Oct. 27 (1994) in Fairbanks. She was nationally known and internationally recognized by Life magazine in 1963 for her side-arm, quick-draw expertise. Claus always had a ready smile, a hot cup of coffee and a sharp- witted anecdote when serving customers at the Broiler, Drop In and Grapeview cafes in Fairbanks. (3/95) CONLEY, CLYDE R. 80, a carpenter and businessman, died April 21 (1995) at his Anchorage home. He came to Alaska in 1938 seeking employment, and worked for various construction companies. He later owned and worked at the C.R. Conley Building. He and his wife, Ruth, homesteaded on Butterfly Lake in 1957. (9/95) CONLEY, RUTH M. 80, died April 24 (1995) in Anchorage. She joined her husband, Clyde, in Fairbanks in 1939; the family moved to Anchorage in 1941. Her last job was at Northern Consolidated Airlines, where she worked as an executive secretary for the airline's president for 32 years. (9/95) CROW, RALPH HOKE 76, died May 26 (1996) in Anchorage. Born in California, Crow moved to Alaska in 1941 to work as a surveyor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. Crow also worked for the Municipality of Anchorage as a surveyor, before retiring from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1981. He was active with Pioneers of Alaska (Igloo No. 15) and the Elks. (9/96) CUTLER, HOWARD 77, died Nov. 17 (1995) at his Fairbanks home. In 1976 he became the first chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He held various academic posts with the university, beginning in 1962, and held the rank of Chancellor Emeritus and Regent's Professor of Economics Emeritus. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award by the University of Iowa Alumni Association in 1989. (3/96) DARLING, MARY A. 70, died Dec. 24 (1995) in Fairbanks. She was a bilingual English tutor for the Literacy Council, and participated in the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, Festival of Native Arts, Tanana Valley State Fair, and Fairbanks Homemakers. Darling owned a general store at Anaktuvuk Pass, and marketed the Original Caribou Eskimo Masks, as well as her designer Eskimo pins and caribou hoof pincushions. (4/96) DAVENPORT, VANNY 88, died July 29 (1996) in Anchorage. Davenport moved to Anchorage in 1917 with her parents. She taught fifth grade in Anchorage and first through eighth grade in a one-room schoolhouse in Healy. Davenport worked as a customer service representative in bookkeeping for National Bank of Alaska from 1956 until 1973, and later as curator of the bank's Alaska Heritage Library, retiring in 1984. She was active in many clubs including the Alaska Crippled Children's Society, Auxiliary No. 4. (11/96) DEGNAN, ADA JOHNSSON 85, died Jan. 4 (1996) in Unalakleet. In 1934 she married Frank A. Degnan and helped him in his duties as president of the village. Their combined efforts brought many benefits to the community. Her family said she was always thankful for the electricity and running water in Unalakleet. A charter member of the Eskimo Mothers' Club, she was the first woman to serve on the Unalakleet village council. She was a volunteer cook for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for 10 years, providing nutritious meals for many children, and she organized the Girl Scout program in Unalakleet, serving as leader for many years. (4/96) DEMIENTIEFF, FRANCES WINIFRED HAWLEY 100, Athabascan matriarch of the Demientieff family, died March 1 (1995) in Anchorage. She was a homemaker, midwife and medical aide. She had the same fish camp for 80 years. Her husband died in 1930, and she raised her five children and nine foster children by hard work and subsistence-style living, the family said. (7/95) DeWITT, ELOISE 82, a retired Fairbanks teachers, died April 5 (1995) in Arkansas. Her students and their parents have memories of the special musical programs of "Hee-Haw" that she choreographed, costumed and produced. DeWitt also wrote and published a garden book. (8/95) DINGLASA, PHILLIP CABALAN 78, died May 5 (1996) in Kodiak. Born in Hawaii, Dinglasa moved in 1945 to Kodiak, where he worked as a commercial fisherman until retirement in 1984. He was an avid sportsfisherman who enjoyed canning salmon and handcrafting his own flies. When not fishing, he enjoyed sewing and taking long drives. (9/96) DOOLEY, ALFORD U. 82, died May 5 (1996) in Anchorage. Dooley came to Anchorage in 1947 to work for the Alaska Carpenters Union, retiring in 1976. He was active in the Alaska Dog Mushers' Association and Chugach Dog Mushers Association. He received many awards for dog mushing races and his volunteer work with the associations. He enjoyed making dog sleds, gardening and travel. (9/96) DREW, ALTA MARIE SIEMER 80, died July 5 (1996) in Anchorage. Drew moved in 1946 to Alaska where she and husband Richard ran a trapping and guiding business at Caswell Lakes. She moved to Anchorage in 1957 and worked for the U>S> Army Corps of Engineers at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the Alaska Native Medical Center and the National Weather Service, retiring from the government in 1978. Drew loved the outdoors, gardening, hunting, fishing and spending time at her homestead with her dogs. (11/96) DUNN, WILLIAM THOMAS 86, a longtime Juneau resident, died Jan. 13 (1996). Dunn was known for his community activities, his wit, his love of cigars, fine steaks and classy cars, and for his trademark hat. He was a frequent spectator in Juneau courtrooms, and his family tells of his passion for 'writing vigorous letters to the editor." (5-6/96) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As extractions are added to these pages, they will be kept in alphabetical order. When the volume of data becomes too large for the current pages, it will be divided into additional pages, as size dictates, and an alphabetical index will be maintained as part of the AKGenWeb Archive Table of Contents.