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Robert Willard Jr.
Angoon resident Robert Willard Jr. died on June 1, 2001, in Juneau after a long illness.
He was born June 26, 1936. His Tlingit name was Kitch Nauthx.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Sr. Field Capt. and Mrs. Robert Willard Sr., his brothers Richard Willard, Paul Willard and Ronald James, and his sister, Elizabeth Peterson.
His is survived by his wife Desa Jacobson, his sister Angela Willard Johnson, his brother David WiIlard, his children Dennis Willard of Anchorage and Nancy Willard of Ft. Collins, Colo., his grandchild Eli, and numerous other relatives.
The honorary pallbearers are Mike Everson, Terry Pegues, Lenard Sevdy, James Jack and Ervil Braman.
Active pallbearers are Roger Lewis and Walt Baldwin, cousins Clifford and Franklin Johnson, nephew Richard Willard Jr. and son Dennis Willard.
A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 7, at the Tlingit-Haida Community Center near Salmon Creek. He will be taken to Angoon on Friday for burial.
Mildred E. Barron
Former Juneau resident Mildred E. Barron died May 31, 2001, in Goliad, Texas.
She was a retired office manager of the Alaska Fish and Game Department. She belonged to the Episcopal Church and had been a member of Juneau Chapter No. 7, Order of the Eastern Star.
She was preceded in death by her husband William Barron and her parents.
She is survived by her son Gerald Hill of Seattle and five grandchildren.
Graveside services were held at Glendale Cemetery in Goliad, and the Rev. Canon Robert DeWolte officiated. The funeral committee of Aransas Pass Chapter of Eastern Star participated in the service.
Katelyn Ohmer Markley
Katelyn Ohmer Markley, 40, died June 8, 2001, at her Anchorage home.
Markley was born April 26, 1961, in Petersburg, third generation of a pioneering family.
She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and was active in sports, setting a state swimming record in the butterfly.
She earned a business degree through the University of Alaska Anchorage and began a career in state government, first in the governor's Office of International Trade and later as a development specialist-legislative liaison and speech writer. She served through four administrations. She was working as a lobbyist with her husband at the time of her death.
Relatives remembered her for her vivacious spirit and laugh, her creative and competent work, and her ability to connect with people. She was a talented cook, rubber stamper and needleworker. She loved irises and American country antiques.
She is survived by her husband, Larry Markley; her mother, Gloria Ohmer Koenigs of Petersburg; sisters, Susan Ohmer of Petersburg, Becky Beck of Anchorage, and Judy Ohmer of Sacramento; brother, Davy Ohmer of Petersburg; grandmother, Marion E. Anderson of Everett, Wash; and many friends.
A celebration of her life was held June 13 in Anchorage. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 20 at St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Petersburg.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the animal shelter of choice.
Merle H. Kruse
Former Juneau resident Merle H. Kruse died March 25, 2001, in Spokane, Wash. He was 91.
He was born Aug. 1, 1909, in Rockford, Wash. He moved to Juneau in 1991. While he was in Juneau he took and passed his GED at the age of 85. He was involved with the Friends Church in Juneau.
He is survived by his brother Howard Kruse of Montana and seven sons, Ralph, Ron, Don, Paul, Fred and Larry Kruse of Washington and Al Kruse of Juneau, daughters Ellen Wirth and Jan Miller of Washington and Norene Abbott of Ketchikan, and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held March 31 in Rockford, Wash.
Alan Perry Bates
Juneau resident Alan Perry Bates died April 14, 2001, in Juneau.
He was born May 31, 1936, in San Francisco and moved to Juneau in 1971.
He attended schools in San Francisco and served in the U.S. Army from 195558.
He was a computer programmer from 1971-76 with the Alaska Department of Administration and Labor. In 1979 he returned as computer programmer for state Department of Health and Social Services. He retired in 1982 to start his own business as an independent contractor transporting mail for the Postal Service.
He was preceded in death by his mother Florence Bates, his father Harry Bates and brother John Bates.
He is survived by his wife Lois Bates of Juneau, his sons Scott Bates of Fairbanks and Brian Bates of Juneau, daughters Suzanne Carter of Juneau and Julie Bates of Louisville, Colo., grandchildren Daniel Bates, Joshua and Zachary Carter and Kanon Goetz.
A potluck and celebration of his life will be held 2-6 p.m. Sunday at the Yacht Club near Aurora Harbor.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Home Care of Juneau, 3200 Hospital Drive, Juneau, AK 99801.
Walter O. Sinn
Former Juneau resident Walter O. Sinn, 87, died on April 17, 2001, at Dorothy's Adult Care home in Friday Harbor, Wash.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. April 21, at the Island Community Church in Friday Harbor.
Maj. Gen. Edward G. Pagano
Former Juneau resident Maj. Gen. Edward G. Pagano, 74, died Jan. 20, 2001, in Anchorage.
Gen. Pagano was born April 22, 1926, in Unga, Alaska. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944, serving in the Pacific Theater and the invasion of Okinawa, where he earned the Bronze Star with V Device and the Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged in December 1946.
He earned a degree in business administration from the San Francisco State College in 1952. In 1954, he enlisted in the Alaska Army National Guard, serving in Kodak and Anchorage, and in 1964 was transferred to Juneau as the operations and training officer of the Alaska Army National Guard. In 1966 he returned to active duty in the Army. He was named state director for the Selective Service System in 1971.
In 1982 he retired as a colonel and was appointed Alaska adjunct general of the Alaska National Guard. He retired from this position in 1986.
Gen. Pagano was a recipient of the Governor's Award in 1987. He also received numerous military awards.
He was affiliated with the Boy Scout Council, Armed forces YMCA Board, VFW, American Legion, Elks, Rotary, Association of the U.S. Army, Reserve Officers Association and the National Guard Officers Association.
He is survived by his wife Rosemary and sons Milton Pagano and Frank Pagano, all of Anchorage; daughter Robyn Winter of Virginia; step-son Jim Donahue of Novato, Calif.; step-daughter Beth McNaughton of Anchorage; brothers Milton Pagano of Kodiak and Frank Pagano of Anchorage; sisters Vivian Beukers of Edmonds, Wash., and Gladys Rosier of Juneau; half-brothers August Heitman of Anchorage and L. Patrick Heitman of Kodiak; half-sisters Merle Gundlach of Eugene, Ore., Dodie Heitman of Auburn, Wash., Sally McLaughlin of Nevada and 11 grandchildren.
A funeral Mass was held Jan. 25 in Anchorage.
Family requests memorial donations be sent to the Anchorage Veterans Monument Fund, P.O. Box 101862, Anchorage, AK 99510.
Phil R. Holdsworth
Former Juneau resident Phil R. Holdsworth died on June 3, 2001, in Anchorage.
He was born Aug. 21, 1910, in Grants Pass, Ore.
Holdsworth came to Alaska in 1913 when his father began work at a lode mine near Moose Pass. In 1931, he worked as mill superintendent for Nebesna Mining Co. between semesters at U.W.
In 1936, with his new bride, Peggie, he set off for the Philippines. In 1937 he became mill superintendent for Mindanao Mines in Surigao. In 1942, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered U.S. troops in the Philippines to surrender, he resigned his commission as a second lieutenant and he and his wife took to the jungle and conducted guerilla activities with locals against the Japanese. They were captured on July 1, 1942, and remained prisoners until Feb. 3, 1945.
He worked an assortment of mining jobs in the Northwest until accepting the position of commissioner of mines for the territory of Alaska in 1952. With statehood in 1959, he assumed the position of commissioner of Natural Resources where he was largely responsible for the selection of Prudhoe Bay for state lands.
In 1967, he retired from the state and continued work in private industry. He was a past president of the State Chamber of Commerce, Alaska State Elks and the Alaska Miner's Association. He was also a life member of the Palmer American Legion and the Wasilla VFW.
He loved to fish, hunt, bowl, dance and play bridge.
He is survived by his son David of Tampa, Fla.; his daughter Phyllis of Beaverton, Ore.; his son Bruce of Anchorage; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The family suggests memorial contributions be made to The Alaska Miner's Association, Inc., 3305 Arctic Blvd. No. 202, Anchorage, AK 99503.
Jay A. Rabinowitz
Former Alaska Chief Justice Jay A. Rabinowitz, 74, died June 16, 2001, in Seattle.
He was born in Philadelphia on Feb. 25, 1927, to Rose and Milton Rabinowitz. When he was 5, his family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Army Air Corps. When the war ended, he attended Syracuse University and Harvard Law School, graduating in 1952.
He worked as a lawyer in New York City before accepting a job as a law clerk to U.S. Territorial Court Judge Vernon Forbes in Fairbanks in 1957. Shortly after his arrival, he met his wife Anne during a ski outing with friends.
After his clerkship, Rabinowitz worked as assistant U.S. Attorney in territorial Fairbanks, then as chief of the Alaska Department of Law's Civil Division in Juneau. In 1960, at age 33, he was appointed to the Superior Court bench in Fairbanks by Gov. Bill Egan, and became the first judge to try a case after statehood. Five years later he was appointed by Egan to the Alaska Supreme Court, where he served for more than three decades.
During his years on the Supreme Court, Rabinowitz personally wrote more than 1, 200 opinions, including almost 200 dissents. In 1997, at the age of 70, he was required by state law to retire.
His long-time colleague, Justice Warren Matthews, credits Rabinowitz with establishing the court's traditions of conduct, not only by his example of hard work and intellectual rigor, but also by his insistence that members of the court act with civility in their discussions and opinions, and treat litigants and attorneys with similar respect. Rabinowitz was dedicated to the principle that all Alaskans are entitled to equal access to the judicial system, once observing in an opinion that "the judiciary in a multiracial jurisdiction, such as Alaska, must be peculiarly sensitive to racial discrimination." He devoted much effort to improving the administration of justice in rural Alaska, overseeing the establishment of Superior Courts in rural areas and the expansion of the magistrate system for smaller villages. Even after his retirement, he continued to serve the Alaska Court System as a "pre tem" trial judge in Juneau.
Rabinowitz was a role model and mentor. Many prominent Alaska attorneys, pubic servants and judges can trace their legal roots to his Fairbanks chambers. "Beyond his overwhelming intellect, the deepest impression he left on me was in his warmth, grace and humanity, which left an indelible imprint that I strive to emulate to this day, over 20 years after my clerkship ended, " said former law clerk Andy Harrington.
For over 30 years, Rabinowitz served as a commissioner on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law. In 1980, the Anchorage Daily News named him its "Citizen of the Decade."
Rabinowitz and his wife Anne raised four children in Fairbanks Judy, Mara, Max and Sarah. A devoted father, he encouraged his children in both academics and athletics. In his later years, he took great delight in the dedicated, humble and generous lives his children led.
Rabinowitz is survived by his wife of 44 years, Anne, of Juneau; daughter Judy, son-in-law Steven Bonorris, and grandsons Alexander and Julian of Larkspur, Calif.; daughter Mara of Anchorage; daughter Sarah and her fianc Jon Katchen of Boston; son Max and daughter-in-law Lisa of Albuquerque, N.M.; brother Robert Rabinowitz and his wife Kate O'Toole of New York City; sister Judy Gerard of New York City; uncle Albert Rabinowitz of Philadelphia; and many nieces and nephews.
A public memorial honoring Rabinowitz will be held at the University of Alaska-Anchorage's Wendy Williamson Auditorium on Tuesday, July 10, at 3 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to a scholarship fund that will be announced at that time.
Dorothy White
Former Juneau resident Dorothy White, 82, died Dec. 27, 2000, in Sublimity, Ore.
She was born Dec. 14, 1918, in Portland, Ore. She grew up in Tillamook County on the North Oregon Coast. She married her husband Martin in 1936, and she and her family moved to Southeast Alaska in 1948.
They lived in Juneau, Douglas, Skagway and Tenakee until 1971, when she and her husband moved to Stayton, Ore. She moved to Sublimity in 1998.
She was a homemaker and raised four children. Her daughter said she was proud to be the great-grandmother to 24 children, and was especially proud that just a few days before she died, she was able to hold her latest great-grandchild.
She enjoyed crocheting, shopping at garage sales and selling her garage-sale acquisitions at flea markets.
She was preceded in death by her husband Martin in 1978. She is survived by her daughters Barbara Bell of Douglas and Margie Thynes of Ketchikan, her son James White of Ketchikan, her sister Vera Baumgartner of Sublimity, 13 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
Services were held in December in Oregon.
