Obituary: Ethan Walter Petticrew Jr. (Joe Jr.), 81

Ethan Walter Petticrew Jr. (Joe Jr.), 81, died on February 9, 2019 at his home in Wrangell, Alaska.

Born January 22, 1938 in Wrangell to Ethan Walter Petticrew Sr. (Joe Sr.) and Florence Imogene (West) Petticrew.

He spent his childhood in Wrangell amongst good friends that he kept for a lifetime. He attended Wrangell High School, was a basketball player, and graduated on May 10, 1957.

He married Anne Carroll (Carol Anne) Casey on August 8, 1959 in Sitka at St. Peter's by the Sea.

He was a talented man, and mastered many skills being especially fond of the maritime industries. His most favorite and memorable was commercial fishing and police work. He owned and captained two of his own boats named the Maryanne and the Barbarian. He spent many years commercial fishing as a boy with his father, and then shared that same experience as a man with his son.

In the early 1960s he joined the Los Angeles police force, then later returned home and became an Alaska State Trooper.

His love for the ocean and fishing lured him back to the sea, where he continued to fish, and ran a seiner for a number of years. He loved to tell stories about commercial fishing for salmon, halibut, and crab.

He also worked construction, milk delivery, and tugboats, was a cold storage engineer and warehouseman, the North Slope, real estate, security, and was a fish tender deckhand. He owned and operated a hardware store in Montana and a bar and restaurant in Colorado, as well as the Huddle Restaurant in Wrangell.

He left fishing for a number of years, but pined for the seas. As a result, he took a position on the Alaska Marine Highway where he made many friendships. He had many stories of his journeys that he shared with his family and friends.

His greatest enjoyment in life was spending time with his loved ones.

He was preceded in death by his father Ethan W. Petticrew Sr., mother Florence Imogene Petticrew, nephew Shane Frank, sister Alora Gunderson, niece Wenda Gunderson, and ex-wife Carol Anne Petticrew.

Joe Jr. is survived by his siblings, Rhoda Fochtman, Joanna Anderson, Roxanne Petticrew, and Charles Petticrew; two children, Ethan A. Petticrew (Coven) and Jessica C. Tiedeman (Clare); four grandchildren, Randi Francis, Nikolai Petticrew, Tatiana Petticrew, and Troy Allen; two great grandchildren, Clara Francis and Sophia Allen; niece Joanna (Larsen) Fairchild; nephews, Jim Gunderson, David Frank, Jeff Petticrew, and Richard Petticrew; many great-nieces and great-nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held later this summer.