Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Robert Abram Welsh Sr.
Former Juneau resident Robert "Bob" Abram Welsh Sr. died Feb. 8, 2008, at the Arbor Rose Home in Mesa, Ariz. He was 80.
He was born March 22, 1927, in Bellingham Wash. Family members said he was best known for his work in the fish industry in Southeast Alaska.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kathleen L. Welsh, of Mesa; sons, Robert A. Welsh, of Mesa, and Stuart E. Welsh, of Las Vegas; and daughters, Robin J. Welsh, of San Diego, and Molly M. (Welsh) Brewster, of Mesa; grandchildren, Robert A. Welsh VII, Lisa McMahon, Tammy Verdirame, Thomas Gibson, Robyn Cross, Courtney Wilhelm and Robert Borucki; seven great-grandchildren; and sisters, Joanne Wear and Barbara McCollum, of Bellingham, Wash.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert IV and Jeanice Welsh; and two brothers, Barney and Bill Welsh.
A celebration in his honor will be held near the end of July 2008 in Hoonah. For information on his celebration, call Molly Brewster at 480-272-6361.
Betty Ruth James
Longtime Kake resident Betty Ruth James died Feb. 12, 2008, in Wrangell.
Born to Willis and Elizabeth Jackson, she was a coordinator for caregivers, a librarian in Kake and a fish and crab cannery worker.
She is survived by her sisters, Harriet Broulette and Elaine Kadake; sons, Russell James and his wife, Pauline, David James and his wife, Wanita, Wallace James and his wife, Joyce, and Owen James; daughter, Arlene Bennett and her husband, Gerald; and best friend, Martha Jackson.
Services will be held at 7 p.m. tonight, at the Salvation Army in Juneau, and at 7 p.m. Saturday in Kake. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Kake Community Hall.
Pallbearers in Kake will be her great-grandsons. Honorary pallbearers will be Walter Williams, John Willis Sr., Charles Dewitt, Martha Jackson, Adaline Jackson and Archie Cavanaugh Sr.
Elizabeth Walters
Juneau resident Elizabeth Kitka Walters died March 19, 2008, in Juneau. She was 74.
She was born Oct. 11, 1933, on her father's fishing boat, the Atlas, while in Stephen's Passage. She was of the Eagle moiety, Kaagwaantaan (Box House). Her Tlingit name was Seigee.
An assistant to the self-governance coordinator for Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, she graduated from Sitka High School and attended Colorado Women's College.
According to her family, she loved to dance with her Yun-Shu-Ka cultural dance group and sing with Father Ossoragin's Alaska Heritage Acapella Choir. She also enjoyed traveling and bingo.
Her family and friends will remember her kind-hearted presence and selfless devotion to others, they said. She is highly regarded throughout the state for her volunteer work and compassion to help others, they said.
Family said her patient, caring and loving touch made life better for all who knew her. She was deeply admired as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend and will be genuinely missed, they said.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Katherine (Bailey) Kitka; brothers, Charlie, Alex, Andrew, Alex and David Kitka; sister, Elizabeth Kitka; and daughter, Katherine Mary Walters.
She is survived by her husband of 53 years, George Walters; daughters, Barbara Eagle, of Kenai, Joan Schermerhorn, of Pearl City, Hawaii, and Meribeth Traynor, of Bend, Ore.; sons, Jay Walters, of Anchorage, George Walters II, of Juneau, and John Walters, of Juneau; brothers, Herman, Stanley and Mike Kitka, all of Sitka; sisters, Maria Guthrie, Roberta Kitka, both of Sitka; and grandchildren, Autumn Eagle, of Maui, Hawaii, Darrick Eagle, of Central point, Ore., Ashlyn Eagle, of Kenai, Shayne and Nikolas Schermerhorn, of Pearl City, Harvest and Bethany Traynor, of Bend, Katherine, George and Frank Albert Walters, of Anchorage, Melanie McDaniel, of Nome, Cheri Goenner, of New York, and Garrett Walters, of Nunapitchuk.
A reception will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 24, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, followed by a Mass at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 416 Fifth St.
Her ashes will be returned to Stephen's Passage.
David John Sperling
Former Juneau resident David John Sperling, of Pensacola, Fla., died March 17, 2008, in Pensacola. He was 78.
He was born April 3, 1929, in Juneau, to Harry Sperling Sr. and Mary Gertrude (Mamie) Sperling. Having countless adventures growing up in Alaska, none could top the claim to fame (with his sister and father) of being the first to travel on bicycle, on the road from Alaska to Minnesota known as the Alcan Highway, his family said. It took 38 days to travel 1,000 miles.
A captain, his naval career began at the Naval Academy, and he graduated with the class of 1952. He earned numerous flying medals and citations while flying before, during and after Vietnam. After finishing his sea duty, he and his family were transferred throughout Europe as well as the Middle East to allow him to retire from Navy service after 31 years.
Two of the more memorable of his stations of duty were as commanding officer of VR-24 in Sigonella, Sicily, and inspector general of CNET at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. His last tour of duty was as Naval and Defense Attaché at the American Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.
According to his family, his personality and wisdom of command earned him the greatest respect from his fellow officers, enlisted personnel and friends. The sense of a tremendous loss is evident from those whose lives he has touched, they said.
Family said he will always be loved and missed. His family and friends wish him Godspeed in joining his lovely wife, Judith.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Judy Sperling, in 2006; and son, Michael Sperling, in 1984.
He is survived by his daughter, Michelle Spinner and her husband, Ron, of Pensacola; son, Doug Sperling and his wife, Susan, of Chicago; grandchildren, Jennifer Spinner, of Tallahassee, Fla., and Joshua Spinner, of Pensacola; brothers, Harry Sperling Jr. and his wife, Anne, of Ocean Shores, Wash., and William Sperling, of Seattle, Wash.; sister, Mary Ely, of Chico, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family thanks Dr. Patel and the staff of Hope Medical Group; Cynthia, at Home Care Services; and Emerald Coast Hospice.
At his request, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Emerald Coast Hospice, 5401 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 800, Pensacola, FL 32504.
Memorial services will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, March 27, at All Faiths Chapel in Pensacola. Inurnment will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery, with military honors.
Beth Ann O'Donnell
Former Juneau resident Beth Ann O'Donnell, of Cliff, N.M., died on March 15, 2008, after battling leukemia for 1½ years. She was 53.
Born in Phoenix, in 1954, she moved at a young age with her family to Juneau. After graduating from high school in 1972, she went to work on the Alaska pipeline as a warehouse person at Prudhoe Bay.
She eventually returned to Arizona and graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe. She held several managerial positions in the Phoenix area before moving to New Mexico.
After arriving in Glenwood, she became actively involved in community life.
Support of education was a theme of her service to her community and included some of her most personally meaningful efforts, her family said. As a volunteer, she set up several programs that benefited schools for both parents and children of the community.
She worked with the Glenwood Ranger District for 14 years, the last of seven of which she served as information assistant.
She will be greatly missed, her family said. She loved living in New Mexico and the many dear friends who made her time on earth so fulfilling and whose hearts she touched so deeply, they said.
She was preceded in death by her father, Thomas O'Donnell, last year.
She is survived by her husband, Allen Graves; son, Wyatt Graves, of Cliff; mother, Mary Alice (Green) O'Donnell, of St. Helena, Calif; a sister, Shannon (O'Donnell) Difilippo and her husband, John, and their two girls, Britta Elle and McKenna Brienne, of Napa, Calif.; a brother, Tim O'Donnell, of Juneau; half-brother, Craig Munk and his wife, Karen, and their daughter, Aren, in Indiana; and her mother-in-law, Mary Alice Oakleaf and her husband, Jim, of Truth or Consequences, N.M.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 28, at the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Cliff.
