Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 415
Longtime resident Luella Rae Davidson, known as "Grandma Lou," passed away Jan. 31 in Wrangell. A celebration of life will be held at Harbor Light Church at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, with a small potluck reception to follow downstairs. "If you are able to bring a dish to share, please do," her family wrote. Luella was born Feb. 28, 1937, in California to Ralph and Dale Schrader. They moved to Oregon where she attended Roseburg High School where she met her future husband, Kenneth Davidson. They...
Charmaine Honey Benston, 63, passed away on Feb. 1 in Klawock. She was born on Dec. 20, 1959, in Wrangell to Gladys and Gilbert Gunderson. She was the youngest member of the family. As a child she resided in Wrangell, attending school and later getting her GED. She moved to Klawock on Prince of Wales Island, where she met her husband, Carl Benston, in 1997. They were married on July 2, 1999. "She loved Prince of Wales Island, especially as each season came and went and putting up traditional...
Felix Villarma, 90, passed away on Jan. 22 in Wrangell. He was born on Feb. 28, 1932, in Wrangell. "He loved Wrangell!" the family wrote. "From a very early age, Felix was a hard worker. He cut halibut cheeks, sold scrap fish to the local mink farm, and was a paperboy for the Wrangell Sentinel." He graduated from Wrangell High School in 1949, where he was an excellent basketball player. He also worked as a deck hand on several different boats during those years. In the fall of 1950, he left...
Marlene Ann Clarke passed away Feb. 7 in the Wrangell long-term care facility. She was born on April 3, 1936, to Nellie Prescott and Howard Messinger in Wrangell. She spent most of her childhood in Wrangell except for short stays in Juneau, Haines and Anchorage. She came back in the third grade and graduated from Wrangell High School in 1954. Working summers in the shrimp and fish canneries gave her the push to move to California to try something different after graduation. She took business...
Former Wrangell resident Dennis Robert Berkeley, 76, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer on Dec. 7, 2022, in Sitka, his family reported. He was surrounded by family and friends, and was visited by many close friends and family during his final stay in Sitka. A service will be held on his birthday, Saturday, Feb. 18, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Elks Lodge in Wrangell. He was born Feb. 18, 1946, in Petersburg, and grew up in Kake, where he developed his love for commercial fishing and...
Christine Jenkins passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on January 4, 2023, at the age of 94. She was a lifelong Wrangell resident and a much-loved and respected member of the Wrangell community. Cecelia Christine Feller was born October 12, 1928, in Wrangell to Otto and Susie (Cooday) Feller. She was the youngest of seven children. She was Tlingit Raven/Frog, Kiks.a'di of the Sun House in Wrangell and was a tribal citizen of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Christine...
Lifelong resident Harvey Gross came to the end of the trail and met death on Nov. 30, 2022, at the Wrangell SEARHC medical hospital. Born in Wrangell on April 7, 1929, to his Tlingit mother Bessie (Nickerson) Gross and Father William (Bill) Gross Sr., Harvey was the youngest of five children. Like so many who were poor during the Great Depression, he described living those years as "the chicken in the summer and the feathers in the winter." About 1935, the family took up homesteading on the...
Ronald D. Kagee passed away Nov. 17 at the Wrangell Medical Center. Burial is planned for 1 p.m. on Dec. 6 at the Sunset Gardens Cemetery. No reception is planned. Ron was born to Bill and Toney Kagee on March 14, 1936, in Longview, Washington. He joined the U.S. Army shortly after graduating from high school in Castle Rock, Washington. He spent two years in the military in Germany and played the bugle. He then worked as a cutter in logging, working in Washington and Oregon before coming to Alas...
Former Wrangell real estate broker John L. Tullis Sr., 99, passed away peacefully with his two daughters present on Sept. 28 in Camas, Washington. Tullis was born on Jan. 16, 1923, in Pendleton, Oregon. He was raised on a ranch, caring for animals, pitching hay, building fences, cleaning the barn and cooking with his mom. He was one of six kids, second from the bottom. He drove a Model T Ford to high school and later sold it for $25. Serving in the Navy during World War II took him to the...
William Gregory Aalbertsberg dies at 74 William "Will" Gregory Aalbertsberg, 74, passed away on July 30. He had lived in Wrangell since 2009. William was born on July 29, 1948, in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. As a young man, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps as soon as he could. "He loved telling the tale of how he celebrated his 17th birthday in boot camp," his family wrote. Will was proud of his service, and a lifelong love of the shooting sports and weaponry took hold as he earned his M14...
Dylan Wyatt Kirschner, 26, passed away on Aug. 26 "after a brief but courageous battle with cancer," his family wrote. Dylan was born on Feb. 16, 1996, in Wrangell and moved to the Yakima, Washington, area with his parents and younger brother Dawson in 2001. Dylan was an avid video gamer and music lover who played the guitar and ukulele. He played as much as his free time allowed. "We will all miss hearing him play," his family wrote. "Though Dylan moved from Alaska when he was very young, he re...
Karen Martin-Webster "Bubbles," 69, passed away on Aug. 26. Karen was born March 11, 1953. She moved to Wrangell in the late 1970s and lived there through the 1980s, when she decided to move to Petersburg to work at Petersburg Fisheries. She and husband, Darrell Webster, moved south for a few years to be near her mom and then moved back to Wrangell in 2015. They lived in Wrangell until January 2022. Karen worked as a bartender, dogcatcher, dispatcher, worked pulling lumber on the green chain in...
Arnold Elmer "Cappy" Bakke, 91, passed away surrounded by family at his side on Aug. 30 in Wrangell. Graveside services will be held at noon Friday, Sept. 9, with a reception to follow at the Elks Hall. Donations of food for the reception will be appreciated by the family. Contact Tammy at 907-305-0270. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wrangell Fire Department or the Wrangell Mariners' Memorial. Arnold was born to Orlando Bakke and Marguret Gunyah on Oct. 25, 1930. He had four si...
John Paul Feller Jr. passed into the "happy hunting grounds" on Aug. 10 in Wrangell after a hard battle with cancer, his family wrote. "He will be greatly missed." A celebration of life will be held at a later time. John was born on Dec. 29, 1948, to John Paul Feller Sr. and Carol Alice (James) Feller Brady in Wrangell. The oldest of five children, John was someone who everyone looked up to and was a friend to all, his family wrote. John started fishing with his dad at a young age and his love...
Ron Winters, 81, of Wrangell, passed away peacefully on Aug. 14 from complications of diabetes and heart disease. He was born in Astoria, Oregon, in 1940 and went to high school in Forest Grove. He served in the U.S. Air Force. He had been in Alaska for more than 50 years, living in Anchorage, Homer, Cordova and Wrangell. He worked on the North Slope as a welder for several years and owned his own machine and welding shop in Homer, where he met his wife. They spent 20 years owning, operating...
Former Wrangell resident Leatha Vada Aitken "went home to her Lord" on July 19, in Juneau surrounded by family. Vada, as she was known, was born Nov. 12, 1931, to James Virgil and Maude Briscoe in Healdton, Oklahoma, and grew up in nearby Fox. The farm life was not easy, but Vada had happy times, her family wrote, especially with cousins Judy and JoAnn. Vada had two daughters with first husband, George Vaughan: Vicki, born in California, and Sandi, born in Juneau. After divorcing, Vada met and m...
Melville "Mel" John Bjorge, 53, of Wrangell, passed away on Sept. 12, 2021, from natural causes, the family said. Mel was born June 25, 1968, at Bishop Rowe Hospital. He was the last baby born at Bishop Rowe before the new Wrangell hospital opened. He was a 20-year employee of the hospital. "He was loved by all at the hospital, especially the long-term care residents," his family wrote. "He will be missed by all." He is survived by his father, Melville B "Bucky" Bjorge, and his mother, Carol...
Richard “Rick” Wiederspohn, 72, of Wrangell, passed away on May 27. Rick moved to Wrangell in 1966. He was a Vietnam veteran with the U.S. Army and a lifetime member of the Elks Lodge. Rick had a brief battle of pneumonia. He was surrounded by loved ones, his family said. No celebration is planned....
Robert "Bob" Wickman, 76, of Wrangell, passed away on Jan. 13. A celebration of life and potluck picnic will be held at 11 a.m. July 6 at Shoemaker Park. Bob was born in Ketchikan to Robert Wickman Sr. and Helen Gross Barr on March 3, 1945. The family moved to Wrangell shortly afterward. He went to Wrangell High School. Bob fished many years, worked as a longshoreman and worked in construction around town and on the North Slope. The jobs he most enjoyed were working for Campbell Towing and...
Terry Whittlesey, 81, "a man of great faith, was called home to be with his Lord and Savior" on June 6 in Spanaway, Washington. He had served as pastor at Harbor Light Church in Wrangell from 1979 to 1990. "He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend. He had an unconditional love for his family, and leaves behind a lasting legacy with many cherished memories," his family wrote. He served more than 50 years as a minister and teacher, bringing him great fulfillment. Terry and his fami...
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. July 6 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church for Rosemary Pagano (Kalkins), who passed away at the age of 87 on Nov. 7, 2021, in Anchorage, leaving behind two children and four grandchildren. Rosemary graduated from Wrangell High School and was a cheerleader for the Wrangell basketball team when they won the 1952 state championship. After graduating in 1955, she attended college in Corpus Christi, Texas. She then became a flight attendant for Pan American...
Glenda L. Gillen, 79, passed away in her home surrounded by her husband and children "and lots of love" on May 18 in Wrangell. Glenda's family will hold a private church service for her. Glenda was born to Harriet and Alton McAllister in Ketchikan on Nov. 6, 1942. She lived several years in Kasaan with her family and loved spending as much time as she could with her grandfather James Peele. She is the granddaughter of Chief Son-I-Hat of the Whale house of the Yaada tribe. She is Haida eagle of...
Rose May Offley Shilts Sundberg, 92, passed away on Jan. 4, 2022, in Wrangell. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Rose was born in Vargas, Minnesota, on May 31, 1929. She moved to Wrangell in May 1962 with her husband Earl Shilts and their five children and never regretted the move. "Rose loved Alaska and seemed to fit right in," her family wrote. Rose worked for several years at Wrangell Seafoods and at the Wrangell General Hospital. She was a member of the Emblem Club and Red...
Former Wrangell resident Mary Delia Hoyt, 84, died Jan. 11, 2022, at her home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. She was born March 19, 1937, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Sabina and John Weber, one of five children. “Mary met the love of her life, Herb Hoyt, while attending Marquette University,” her family wrote. They were married in 1956 and later camped their way across the country “like gypsies,” the family wrote, finally settling in Ketchikan. Together they raised seven children. “Mary always claimed her father’s family were Romanian gypsies, an...
Former Wrangell resident Carroll Merritt, 86, died July 21, 2021, in Fort Benton, Montana. He was born in 1935, the first child of Bonnie and Ves Merritt, of Sturgis, South Dakota. During elementary school the family lived a short time in Deadwood, S.D., but most years were in Sturgis, where both sets of grandparents and other family were close. Carroll Merritt lived in Wrangell about 20 years, from the late 1960s to late 1980s, working as a teacher, said his widow, Agnes Merritt. They were married 51 years. He excelled in sports in high school...