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JOSEPHINE C. SVEDIN
Palmer resident Josephine Cornelia Svedin, 85, died Sept. 30, 2003, at the Palmer Pioneers' Home with family by her side.
Mrs. Svedin was born Sept. 22, 1918, in Ash Creek, Minn.
She attended a one-room country school during her early school years. She graduated from Buffalo Center High School in 1938. She earned her registered nursing degree from Lutheran Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis and then attended the University of Minnesota for a year of public health training. She served as a county public health nurse in northern Minnesota.
While living in Minneapolis, she started corresponding with Larry Svedin, a soldier serving in the Hawaiian Islands. Their war-time courtship by letter continued and they were married Jan. 5, 1946.
Mrs. Svedin was a full-time mother until the early 1960s when she returned to hospital nursing. In addition to working in public health, hospitals and nursing homes, she worked as an on-call special nurse for seriously ill patients. She was active in migrant children's health screening. She retired in 1982.
She was involved in the hospice program and the American Cancer Society. Her faith was apparent in her compassionate treatment of patients, family members and friends.
Mrs. Svedin loved listening to classical music and encouraged the love of music in her children. After her retirement, she was able to enjoy her vegetable and flower gardening full-time.
Her family wrote, "She enjoyed freezing and canning produce from her acre-large garden. She composted and recycled long before it became fashionable. There were only a few years during her 40s that her inexhaustible energy failed her when she successfully battled thyroid cancer. She was very grateful that cancer surgery did not leave her unable to sing."
Mrs. Svedin and her husband moved to Wasilla in 1995 to be near their children. She was a resident of the Anchorage Pioneers' Home before being accepted into the Palmer Pioneers' Home where she was lovingly cared for until her death.
Mrs. Svedin is survived by her husband Larry, and four children Lorraine Helms of Wasilla, Evie Brien-Wells of Texas, Ronald Svedin of Palmer and Leonard Svedin of Anchorage. Also surviving are nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, three sisters and two brothers. Her son Duane and two brothers preceded her in death.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla. Pastor Duane Hansen will officiate. Her grandchildren will be honorary pallbearers. She will be buried next summer near Hallock, Minn., next to her son, Duane.
Memorial donations may be made to the Activities Department of the Palmer Pioneers' Home or to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for the purchase of landscaping plants.
Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.
DWIGHT 'GATOR' GOSNELL
Alaska resident Dwight George Gosnell, best known as "Gator" of Gator Glass, lost his battle with cancer on Sept. 27, 2003, surrounded by family and friends in his Wasilla home.
A celebration of eternal life took place Tuesday at Valley Baptist Tabernacle Church, with a viewing prior to the service. A service was held at Anchorage Baptist Temple on Wednesday, and an additional service will be held today at Henry-Cochran Funeral Home in Blue Ridge, Ga., with a viewing at 1 p.m. and service at 2 p.m. He will be interred at the Friendship Baptist Church No. 3 Cemetery in Blue Ridge.
Born Oct. 10, 1926, in Clarksburg, W.Va., to Arthur Carl and Myrtle Gosnell, he spent his early years in Homestead, Fla. As a youth he enjoyed hunting, "frogin, " fishing and participation in his local church.
In 1944 Mr. Gosnell answered the call of his country in the South Pacific, where he served in World War II as a SeeBee. In 1950, he married Jeanie Foster who would be his sole companion and the love of his life. A few years later in 1953, he greeted the birth of his only child, Donna Jean.
In the early 1960s, Mr. Gosnell came to Alaska in search of new opportunities and was immediately employed as a craftsman for Capitol Glass. A short time later he sent for Jeanie and Donna and made Alaska his permanent residence. Over the next several years he was employed by Fuller Glass and Paint and became a founding partner of Inlet Glass Company. In 1979 he and Jeanie opened Gator Glass Company Inc., which continues to serve the needs of Alaskan individuals and businesses today.
While living and working in Southcentral Alaska, his family said, he continued his penchant for travel, big-game hunting, fishing and flying, as well as community service and church involvement. "He was known as a man that would give any hard worker a chance, a friend that never considered the time of day, and a devoted husband and father that cherished his family and God, " they said.
Mr. Gosnell is survived by his wife Jeanie; daughter and son-in-law Donna and Rocky Ellis; grandson Heath Wilhelmsen; sisters Joan Ball of Blairsville, Ga.; Ruth Robinson of Homestead, Fla., Helen Dhooge of Dallas, Ga., Lois Thelander of Brooksville, Fla., and Wyeth Gosnell of Homestead, Fla.
Arrangements handled by Kehl's Palmer Mortuary.
HAROLD BERMESTER SMITH
Harold Bermester Smith, 91, died on June 11, 2003.
He was born on May 22, 1912, in Hayden, Routt County, Colo. One of his earliest adventures was working for the Civilian Conservation Corps where he helped build the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. In his early career, Mr. Smith was a horse trainer and lumberjack. The majority of his life was spent as a practical geologist and hard rock miner. Work in the mines led him to Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and Utah.
Mr. Smith came to Alaska in the early '60s, and, according to this family, the "Spell of the Yukon" claimed him from then on. For the next 40-some years he spent his time working and traversing the great state of Alaska from Bornite to Bethel, from Hatcher Pass to the Kuskokwim. Had he been a writer he would have woven the greatest of all Alaska novels -- replete with the wildest tales of the old sourdoughs. "And many would have been true!" his family said.
When the struggle for gold had to be left to a younger generation, he found great happiness in Homer and, most recently, in Palmer. His last years were made more full by a trip to Australia and learning gold-smithing at age 80. In his 91st year he planted yet another garden, reminding us that life goes on. Mr. Smith's last evening was spent tending to the vegetables he so dearly loved.
His dear friend George Williams will honor him by spreading his ashes in Grasshopper Valley, in the Knik Glacier area.
He was preceded in death by his mother Edith Eleanor Pultz, his father Albert Martin Smith and his four brothers, Joseph, Kenneth, Lyle, and Wayne. He is survived by his sister Edith of South Carolina, and by his six children, Evelyn Hazelwood (Bernard C.), Kermit Smith (Julie), Bonnie Teninty (Richard), Connie Greco (William), Vonme Lowry (James), Fairleen Brady (Michael), three step-children, Kay Tomlin, George Psenda, and Richard Psenda. Harold has 23 grandchildren and 22 great grand children.
His family added "We, his children, know we cannot name each of his dear friends. But to each of you we give our heart felt thanks for making Alaska the community and home he could not leave."
LORRAINE CORDELL (KALMBACH) HUSKINS
A celebration of life will be held June 28 for Lorraine Cordell (Kalmbach) Huskins, 62. She died of cancer on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2003, at her home in Phoenix, Ariz., surrounded by her family.
She was born Dec. 7, 1940, in South Dakota to John and Helen Kalmbach. She married Curtis "Lee" Huskins in 1970 and moved to Alaska in 1975. They moved to Phoenix in 1992.
According to her family, she loved to come back to Alaska in the summer. "She was a tremendous gardener and a wonderful friend to many people. She had a heart for those less fortunate than her, and was always doing things to brighten up our days." She was a member of The Valley Cathedral in Phoenix. She also enjoyed bowling once a week with the girls in Wasilla and Phoenix.
She is survived by her husband Curtis Lee Huskins of Phoenix; daughters Dawn and her husband Jake Marquez, of Wasilla, Felice and her husband Lance Bennett, of Anchorage; son Ken and his wife Bonnie Stetter; mother, Helen Kalmbach, of Lead, S.D.; brother John and his wife Donna Kalmbach of Snohomish, Wash.; sister Debra and her husband Marlo Heupel also of Lead; grandchildren, Trustin, Myrranda, Cristopher, Chantell and Blake. She was preceded in death by her father John, son Troy Stetter and granddaughter Crystal Stetter.
Her family noted that they are looking forward to seeing her again.
The celebration of life will take place at 2 p.m. at the Birch Harbor Baptist Church on Mile 4 Knik-Goose Bay Road.
ENID CLAIRE ISBELL PEPPERD
Enid Claire Isbell Pepperd, 83, died peacefully Feb. 22, 2003, at Pat's Care Assisted Living Home in Wasilla.
A private family service is planned. At her request, her ashes are to be spread this summer over her birthplace by family members.
Mrs. Pepperd was born at home July 31, 1919, at the family homestead on the windswept prairie near Cherry Ridge, Mont., to Everett and Gertrude Isbell. The family then moved to Oklahoma, where most of her childhood was spent with her two sisters and brother on the family farm.
She married Roger Pepperd in 1943 and they lived in Wichita, Kan., with their three sons until 1960. The family then moved to Gunnison, Colo., where the couple founded and owned KGUC Radio. She was active in the Colorado radio broadcast industry until the late 1990s.
Mrs. Pepperd spent more than 30 years visiting Alaska, where two of her sons and their families reside in Wasilla. She moved to Alaska permanently in March 2002 to spend her final time near those families. She loved salmon fishing, sightseeing and bush flying opportunities in Alaska.
Her family said, "She had a a true pioneering spirit throughout her entire life."
Mr. Pepperd was preceded in death by her husband Roger.
She is survived by her sisters and brother-in-law, Barbara and Lee Ives and Donna Ivan West; brother and sister-in-law Everett and Billye Isbel; sons and daughters-in-law, Gordon and Kendra Pepperd of Wasilla, Greg and Patti Pepperd of Wasilla, Kit and Debbie Pepperd of Loveland, Colo.; grandchildren and their spouses, Josh and Lindsay Pepperd, Jeremy and Danielle Pepperd, Jason and Tami Carlson, Nathan and Marisa Chud, Jason, Gabe and Faith Pepperd, all of Wasilla; Chloe Claire and Clint Pepperd of Loveland, Colo.; great-grandchildren Lexi and Lainie Pepperd and Trey Carlson of Wasilla.
The family asks that any memorial donations be sent to Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs CO 80995-7620.
Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla.
JANNELLEN LUECKEN
Jannellen Luecken, 40, died March 22, 2003, at Cynical Lake, in Hectar, N.Y., in a diving accident.
Mrs. Luecken was born Jan. 28, 1963, in Elmira, N.Y., to Phyliss and Edgar Mathews. She married Arthur Luecken at 18 years of age.
They had two sons, Arthur J. "A.J." and Joshua, and moved to Alaska in 1985. She was always a lover of animals, working at Palmer Animal Shelter, Scrub-A-Mutt dog grooming and later starting her own dog-grooming business in Whittier.
Her friends and family said, "She and her husband spent most of their time together in Whittier doing what she loved most, sailing and diving. She enjoyed the outdoors, plant life, horses and ceramic making. She was a very down-to-earth person. She was the one who always kept her family together. She was rarely seen without her husband by her side."
Mrs. Luecken is survived by her husband Arthur; son Joshua; father Edgar; one grandson; and many other relatives.
Her ashes will be brought home to rest with her son A.J. who died in December 2002.
In lieu of usual remembrances donations may be made to HC04 Box 9023-B Palmer AK 99645, c/o Moores. For information on memorial date and time contact Robert or Tamara Moore at 745-2925.
FRANCES JEAN BLANKENSHIP
Montana Creek resident Frances Jean Blankenship, 75, died March 18, 2003, at Elmendorf Air Force Base Hospital.
A visitation will be held at Kehl's Palmer Mortuary, located at 209 S. Alaska Street, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March, 29. A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. with Rev. Damond Blankenship officiating. A potluck reception will be held at 668 E. Beaver Street immediately following the service.
Mrs. Blankenship was born Feb. 11, 1928, in Salamanca, N.Y. She worked as a telephone operator, a waitress and a wild game catcher in Leesburg, Fla. from 1947 to 1964. She came to Alaska in April 1965, and lived in Anchorage, Silver Lake, Moose Pass and Willow. Mrs. Blankenship worked as a travel agent, bullcook, salad chef and waitress. She owned Silver Lake Lodge and also operated a bed and breakfast. She was a member of the Hotel Restaurant Union and also a member of the Unity Church.
Her hobbies included embroidering, sewing, upholstering and traveling.
Her family wrote, "She was a beautiful, loving, strong-willed and generous woman who never backed down from a challenge. She could stretch a dollar farther than anyone and pinch a penny until it screamed for mercy to take care of her family. She was an amazing gal who came to Alaska and homesteaded in the Wrangells. She was a true pioneer."
She is survived by her husband Ralph A. Blankenship; brother William A. Nelson; sisters, Carol McCall, Virginia Getford and Jacqueline S. DeMichele; daughters, Linda Davis, Esther Van Meter, Nancy Sanders and Shirley Poulsen; son James E. Dann; stepsons, John and Damond Blankenship; stepdaughter Carol Soleing; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and seven step-grandchildren.
Mrs. Blankenship was preceded in death by her brother George Nelson and her first husband, Dave Dann.
Arrangements were handled by Kehl's Palmer Mortuary.
BEN MARSH
Anchorage resident Ben Marsh, 78, died Thursday of a sudden heart attack at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
Mr. Marsh moved his family from Skokie, Ill. in 1966 to Anchorage and became the city manager. He also served on the Anchorage Borough Assembly, and after unification he served as an assemblyman for the Municipality of Anchorage. His service in public office spanned a period of 14 years. He was also a World War II Veteran of the Army. Mr. Marsh was a well respected businessman and real estate broker with his own business, "Ben Marsh and Associates" for more than 30 years. He was a member of the Petroleum Club, the Anchorage International Rotary Club, Charr, and the Executive Secretary of Alaska Manufactured Homes Assoc. for 25 years.
He enjoyed spending time with his family hunting, fishing and boating in Prince William Sound. He was a wood carver and enjoyed taking gambling trips to Las Vegas. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bernard C. and Hazel MacKenzie Marsh; a brother, Robert Marsh, and his first wife of 48 years, Maria Bruno Marsh.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara Marsh; his son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Sheila Marsh of Valdez; his daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Dennis Vincent of Wasilla; and daughter, Linda Marsh-Ives of Anchorage; grandchildren, Jason Marsh, Jessica Marsh, Ty Vincent, M.D. and wife Megan of Anchorage, Gina Vincent, PhD of Boston, Mass.; three great-grandchildren; and two brothers, James Marsh, of Milford, Maine, and Donald Marsh of Holden, Maine.
Friends desiring to give memorials may direct them to Anchorage International Rotary, Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 104488, Anchorage AK 99510.
"He was truly generous, a mentor and shepherd of his family, and will be sorely missed by all whose lives he touched, " his family said.
Services were performed by Father Nelson, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Anchorage, at 9th and Klevin streets, off Bragaw.
Arrangements were made through Kehl's Forest Lawn Memorial Chapel with his long-time friend, Fred Kehl, officiating.
JANE D. TERAPELLE
Palmer resident Jane D. Terapelle, 87, died at her home on Jan. 28, 2003.
No local services are planned.
Mrs. Terapelle was born on Feb. 28, 1915, in Crystal Falls, Mich. She came to Alaska in November 1947, first residing is Eska, then moving to the Palmer area where she resided until her death.
She was a homemaker and a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Palmer.
Her family said, " We remember our Mom, 'Noni, ' a beautiful, kind-hearted, generous wife, mother and grandmother, who loved and enjoyed her family above all else. She filled her days playing the piano, reading and visiting with her friends and relatives. Another of her favorite pastimes was dining out. She was a devout Catholic and drew her strength through her faith in Jesus our Savior. We will miss her more than words can say."
A special thank-you to her neighbors, Dorothy and Jerry Reinhart, for their love and support through the years."
Mrs. Terapelle is survived by five children; 15 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; and six great-great grandchildren.
Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla.
