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Chief Peter John
FAIRBANKS - He never made it past elementary school, but he was described as a brilliant man and eloquent speaker.
He held a job for wages only once in his life, but he worked harder than most people will ever know.
In 102 years, he never stepped foot out of Alaska, yet he had a view of the world that few could ever appreciate.
A day after his death, friends and family remembered Chief Peter John - the traditional chief of the Interior's Athabascan community and one of Alaska's most revered Native elders - as a deeply spiritual man whose sole purpose was to protect and nurture the only lifestyle and culture he ever knew.
"He was always teaching us, " said Richard Frank, who knew John for about 70 years and served as chief in Minto in the early 1960s. "He always said, 'Live by the truth and exercise the truth; that's the best weapon you'll ever have."'
John told Frank stories of hunting brown bears with spears and moose with bows and arrows. He was a masterful storyteller who loved to sing Native songs, especially the caribou song.
John used stories and songs to teach younger generations about the Native culture, said those who knew him.
"We can't calculate his loss, " said Will Mayo, who as president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference in the early 1990s, became friends with John.
"You had a sense he was seeing inside your soul, " Mayo said. "He would talk about spiritual insights that just blew me away."
John died Friday night in his log cabin in Minto surrounded by more than a dozen family members, including eight of his grandchildren, said granddaughter Julie John, who had cared for the chief the last seven years.
"It was really quite a thing, " she said. "I think he was just waiting for all his grandkids to be there."
Seven of John's 10 children preceded him in death, as did his wife of 70 years, Elsie, who died in 1995. He leaves a legacy that includes nearly 30 grandchildren, a dozen great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
John lived most of his life in Minto, an Athabascan village of about 230 people 130 miles northwest of Fairbanks.
Known in his home village simply as "The Old Man" or "The Chief, " he was born on Oct. 15, 1900, in the Yukon River village of Rampart. His mother died when he was 2, and his father cared for him until he became ill. He saw his first white man when he was 10.
At age 9, John was sent to St. Marks mission school in Nenana where he spent five years but never made it past the third grade. Instead, he went back to the village and taught himself how to read and write using a dictionary.
In 1994, the University of Alaska Fairbanks awarded John an honorary doctorate.
In 1925, John married his wife, Elsie. They lived in Old Minto village where they led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, traveling traplines by snowshoe in the winter and living in fish camps in the summer.
John worked for money only once in his life, as a deckhand on a river sternwheeler, but he quit to go back to the village and live off the land. He spent most of the time feeding his family, hunting every day and cutting hundreds of cords of firewood.
"He and wife would go out to their wood yard on the Tanana River and cut cord after cord after cord of wood, " Mayo said. "He'd have dozens of cords stacked up. All with an ax and Swede saw."
In 1992, John was elected by Athabascan elders to be their traditional chief. The position is a teaching role, not a political one. He sought to remind people what it meant to be Athabascan. He also wrote a book, "The Gospel According to Peter John."
The chief's favorite topics were the Athabascan culture and language.
"It was always an adventure to talk to him, " Mayo said. "He would fix you with his eyes and start talking about something and out of the blue he'd say something and the conversation was 10 levels deeper than you anticipated."
Known as an outspoken man, John testified for Alaska Native land claims during the late 1960s and advocated sobriety for Natives.
John made headlines last year when he demanded that his name be removed from a Fairbanks riverfront tribal hall named in his honor when the Tanana Chiefs Conference voted to allow alcohol sales in what is now the Chena River Convention Center.
"Some of you vote like you don't understand what's going on here, " John told the delegates who voted, speaking in Athabascan. "You better think of your grandchildren."
Gov. Frank Murkowski on Saturday ordered that Alaska flags be flown at half staff from Monday morning through Friday afternoon in John's honor.
"He was a great leader of his people, especially through the transitions they have made over the past half century, " Murkowski said in a statement Saturday. "He will be missed by those who must now take up the mantle of leadership he leaves them."
Following a traditional potlatch and funeral, a date for which has yet to be set, John will be buried in the Minto cemetery next to Elsie.
Vivian M. Kahklen
Lifelong Alaskan and former Juneau resident Vivian M. Demmert Kahklen, 85, died Sept. 18, 2003, in Eagle River. Her Tlingit name was Kasteech.
She was born Dec. 6, 1917, in Klawock, one of thirteen children to Emma and Charles Demmert. She attended school at Sheldon Jackson in Sitka. At Sheldon Jackson, her family said, "she was known as of one of the three musketeers, along with Mary Cesar and Amy James."
Along with her husband, Joseph Kahklen, she taught in villages throughout Southeast Alaska, along the Yukon River and in Arizona on the Navajo reservation. She was a teacher for much of her life, maintained the Kahklen household and was an active participant as a member of the Alaska Native Sisterhood. She received numerous awards for her work with children and community development. She served as Queen Regent 2001 for the 29th Annual Chugiak-Eagle River Scholarship Program.
Her family wrote, "Her faith was a significant part of who she was and influenced everything she did. She was an awesome mother, teacher, midwife, nurse, and whatever else was needed in the communities in which she lived. Mrs. Kahklen was known for her deep love of her Tlingit heritage, and commitment to passing this onto the younger generations. She exemplified the Alaskan spirit with her incredible energy, creativity, industriousness, and an unquenchable curiosity and love of learning. She had a willingness and dedication to open her home to those who needed assistance and camaraderie and instilled this value in her family. She loved music and dance and encouraged her children and many others to appreciate the arts. In addition, she was a self-proclaimed sports freak, and was especially an ardent Seattle Mariners fan."
She was preceded in death by her husband and her son, Llewellyn "Archie" Kahklen.
She is survived by her children, Joseph Kahklen, Albert (Florence) Kahklen and Antoinette (Robert) Jones; 19 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m. today at the Eagle River Presbyterian church. A Juneau service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at Northern Light Church.
Arrangements were made with Evergreen Memorial Chapel, 737 E Street.
Sue E. Shields
Former Juneau resident Sue E. Shields, 97, died Sept. 12, 2003, in Anchorage at the Providence Horizon House.
She was born June 15, 1906, in Hamilton, Mont. She lived in Juneau from 1952-1965 and in Anchorage from 1992-2003. She was a homemaker and a member of the Presbyterian Church and P.E.O.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John F. Shields, and grandchild, Charlene Hanson.
She is survived by her daughters, Elisabeth (Doug) Lee and Mary (James) Hanson; 11 grandchildren, Anne Knight and Andrew Engstrom, both of Juneau, Jennifer Alexander, Craig Lee and Robert Hanson, all of Anchorage, Ronnie Lee of Ogden, Utah, Laura Irby of New Jersey, Greta Cox and Jake Glotfelty of Kenai, Heidi Glotfelty of South Londonderry, Vt.; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to the Horizon House or Hospice of Anchorage.
Arrangements were made by Witzleben Family Funeral Homes.
Mary Barricklow
Juneau resident Mary Barricklow, 91, died Aug. 23, 2003, at the Juneau Pioneer's Home.
She was born May 4, 1912, in Astoria, Ore. She lived in Juneau for approximately 70 years.
A wake will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at the Lucky Lady, 192 S. Franklin.
Jameson Marley Eves
Jameson Marley Eves was born and died Sept. 26, 2003, in San Francisco, Calif.
She is survived by her parents, Chris and Brooke Eves; grandparents, Tom and Melody Kirchner, and Garry DesRosiers; and aunts and uncles, Natalie and Mark Powers, and Adam and Norman DesRosiers.
Robert Lester Carte II
Former Juneau resident Robert Lester Carte II, 41, died Aug. 18, 2003, in Ketchikan.
He was born July 10, 1962, in Seattle, Wash. He graduated from Tyee High School in Seattle. He lived in Juneau from 1982 to 2001, then moved to Sitka and then to Ketchikan.
His family said, "He loved the outdoors, hiking, fishing, sailing, and hunting."
He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Lee Carte and Elizabeth Carte.
He is survived by his children, Robert Lee Carte II, Seana Carte, and Gabriel Carte, all of Juneau; brothers Roy and Ed (Chris) Carte, all of Juneau; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and nephews.
No services will be held per his wishes. He was cremated and his ashes will be scattered.
Kenneth William James
Petersburg resident Kenneth William James, 82, died Jan. 1, 2004, after a brief stay at Bartlett Regional Hospital, surrounded by numerous family members and friends.
A traditional Tlingit and Christian memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Juneau ANB Hall. Additional services will be scheduled at the Sitka National Cemetery with a brief ferry stop in Angoon for a final farewell to the esteemed Clan Houses of Angoon.
He was born Aug. 26, 1921, to George (X'aleixhw) and Fannie (Aanshaawtk'i) James in Angoon. His Tlingit name was Jeexwanx and he was the last surviving male elder of the Deisheetaan, Raven House (Yeil Hit) of Angoon. He was fluent in the Tlingit language and enjoyed sharing Tlingit words of wisdom and stories that were passed down from his Deisheetaan ancestors.
He attended elementary school in Angoon and graduated from high school at Sheldon Jackson in Sitka, where he played basketball and held a field record for the broad jump for many years. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II. He supervised cold storage operations in the Aleutian Islands and played basketball for his unit's Army team from 1943 until he was honorably discharged in 1946. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion and briefly served in the Alaska Army National Guard in Angoon. He was a commercial fisherman for most of his life and worked and retired from Petersburg Cold Storage in the mid-1980s. He and his wife, Marie, loved to travel to Juneau for the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament and the Golden North Salmon Derby. They never missed a year of these annual events.
"He loved music, played the trumpet and participated in many school musical activities, " said family members.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 30 years, Marie Reyes James; parents, George and Fannie James; son, Kenneth James Jr.; brothers, Robert James Sr., James Klushkan, Harry James and George James Jr. (infant brother); sisters, Mary James, Helen James (infant sister) and Helen James Zuboff.
He is survived by his sister, Selina (Murlin) Everson of Juneau; sons, Arnold and Joseph James of Seattle; cousins, Elsie John, Margaret (Charles) Gamble, June Pegues, Harriet Chilton, Marie (Charles) Beasley and William (Mona) Johnson; nieces, Donelle (Dermott) Howard, Catrina (Duff) Mitchell, Patricia Everson, Thea (Daniel) Brown, Pauline Paddock, Rose (Rudy) Walker, Vicky James, Eunice James-Lee, Amelia (Gordon) Kookesh, Elena See and Elizabeth Williams; nephews, Joe (Sharon) Zuboff, Mark Everson and Michael Everson, Larry James, Robert (Pamela) James, Jr., Thomas (Valerie) James, Timothy James, Sr., and James Klushkan, Jr.; and numerous great nieces and great nephews. He is also survived by his stepchildren, Arcadio Tagaban, Joe (Willie) Tagaban, Pauline (partner Harold) Young, Felipe (Marianne) Tagaban, Dorothy (Patrick) Owen, Lenora (William) Evans and Michael (Sandy) Tagaban, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
William Kozlowski Jr.
Juneau resident William John Kozlowski Jr., 32, died Jan. 13, 2004, in Juneau.
He was born Oct. 22, 1971, in Germany, and was raised in Washington. He met his wife, Sierra Kaden, while attending Evergreen State College. After graduating in 1994, they moved to Juneau in 1995. He was the C.E.O. of Juneau Information Service Technology, a disability advocacy group, and he was a musician/songwriter.
He was a disability advocate for the 21st century, a reverend of the Church of Music, a member of H.E.M.P., Alaska, and a member of the Jackie Chan Fan Club.
He is survived by his wife, Sierra Kaden; mother, Roxanne Kozlowski; sister, Krista MacDougall; and brother, John Parsons.
A life celebration potluck will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Thane Ore House.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to J.I.S.T., 8513 Nugget Place, Juneau, AK 99801.
Leonard Peter Lowell
Juneau resident Leonard Peter Lowell, 83, died Jan. 31, 2004, at his home.
He was born Jan. 27, 1921, in Juneau to John and Anna Lowell. He was raised in Juneau and graduated from Juneau High School with the Class of 1938. During the summers he worked in the fishing industry with his father.
He attended the University of Washington from 1939 to 1945, while also working for the Boeing Co. in the development of in-flight systems for the B-29 military aircraft. While attending the University of Washington, he met Alvhild "Hildie" Leirfallom. On June 11, 1943, they were married in Seattle. He also served with the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946. The couple moved to Juneau on June 6, 1946, and has lived here ever since.
His engineering career spanned more than 56 years. He worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1948 to 1955, working on projects in remote villages throughout Alaska. From 1955 to 1958, he was the area construction engineer for the Division of Indian Health, U.S. Public Health Service. In 1958, he became the first employee of the Department of Public Works, serving as the director of the Division of Buildings until 1968. He was instrumental in the restoration efforts of state buildings damaged during the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and the 1967 flood in Fairbanks.
In 1968, he entered into private practice providing professional electrical engineering services. Over the years, he became recognized as an electrical engineering expert in the field of marine facilities. In 1992, the local chapter of the Alaska Society of Professional Engineers honored him with the Engineer of the Year award in recognition of his valued contribution to this specialized field of engineering.
He attended Eagle Wings Community Church, belonged to the Sons of Norway and was a life member of the Juneau Elks Club, Pioneers of Alaska and Juneau Yacht Club. He enjoyed boating, fishing, hunting and vacationing in Maui.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Hildie; their children, Lori of Lahaina, Hawaii, and Robert of Juneau; grandchildren, Xan, Shayne and Cheyenne Moore of Klamath Falls, Ore., and Mackenzie, Jonathan and Nicolas Lowell of Juneau, and Kerstin Powers of Spokane, Wash; brothers, Irving "Bud" (Jane) of Denver, Colo., John (Naomi) of Vancouver, Wash., and Arthur (Sue) of Edmonds, Wash.; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and relatives in Norway.
Services are planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his name to Hospice and Home Care of Juneau, 419 Sixth St., Juneau, AK 99801.
The family can be reached in Juneau at 301 Highland Drive, Juneau, AK 99801.
