Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Helen A. Mattson
Juneau resident Helen A. Mattson died from pneumonia on Aug. 29, 2008, in Juneau. She was 92.
Born April 11, 1916, at home in the family farmhouse near Napavine, Wash., she first came to Alaska in 1937 with her mother, Lena Downing, and sister, June Downing, to join her father, Harry Downing, in Anchorage.
From the mid-1940s to early-50s, she lived the life of a pioneer woman with her husband, Leo Kareen, and two young sons in the undeveloped Sand Lake area of Anchorage. She cooked on a wood stove by the light of a Coleman lantern and carried water from a small lake a quarter of a mile from the family home. The nearest neighbor was almost a mile away.
In 1935, she graduated from Highline High School in Burien, Wash. During her life, she worked as a waitress, counter clerk in the Sears Catalogue Sales Office and as an assistant manager in Anchorage before Sears opened any retail outlets in Alaska.
She left Alaska in 1966 due to the health of her second husband, William Mattson. When he died in 1991, she returned to Anchorage and resided there until joining her son in Juneau in 2006.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Leo Kareen and William Mattson; son, Edward Kareen; grandson, Scott Kareen; and sister, June Newman.
She is survived by her son, Kenneth Kareen, of Juneau; daughter-in-law, Patricia Kareen, of Anchorage; granddaughters, Jodi Benham, of Anchorage, and Kelly English, of Dubuque, Iowa; six great-grandchildren, of Dubuque and Anchorage; and special Juneau friends, the Richard A. Smith family.
Services will be held in Anchorage at a later date.
Bunny Francine E. Mercer
Longtime Juneau resident Bunny Francine E. Mercer died Sept. 9, 2008, in Juneau. She was 68.
Born March 10, 1940, her favorite pastime was watching "Walker Texas Ranger." Her family said she was known as the "Tlingit Poet" and the lady with the loud voice and soft heart. She also enjoyed attending church at Salvation Army in Juneau.
She was preceded in death by her father, Herbert Mercer; and mother, Lottie Mercer.
She is survived by her daughters, Angelica V. Reynolds and husband, Todd, of Lafayette, La., Francine E. Ruby Brasseaux and husband, Kendall, and Charlotte M. Ruby Martin; grandchildren, Darain and Nyah Reynolds, James, Jeffrey and Michael Grenier, of Lewiston, Maine, Michael Mercer, of Juneau, Thomas James, Dylan and Cheyenne Martin, of Soldotna, and Michelle M. Guarino, of Boise, Idaho; great-granddaughter, Kaylee Grenier, of Lewiston, Maine; and brother, Richard Mercer.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at Salvation Army Church, 439 Willoughby Ave. Interment will take place at a later date, next to Lottie Mercer, where a marker will be placed at Evergreen Cemetery.
Michael James Brown
Former longtime Juneau resident Michael James Brown died Sept. 21, 2008, in Mount Airy, N.C. He was 47.
Born Nov. 27, 1960, in Roseburg, Ore., he was a master carpenter and served in the U.S. Navy.
He is survived by his wife, Kim Brown, of Mount Airy; daughter, Tiffany Wall, of Mount Airy; parents, Gary and Jeanine Brown, of Juneau; and siblings, Lisa Ibias, Craig Brown, April Hotchkiss and Mark Davis, all of Juneau.
Services will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, at Auke Bay Bible Church. Refreshments will be served.
Mary Jo Hobbs
Longtime Juneau resident Mary Jo Hobbs died peacefully Oct. 1, 2008, in her home. She was 90.
Born June 12, 1918, in Estherville, Iowa, to Michael and Mary McMahan, she never knew her birth parents. Her father died in the war, and her mother was killed in a car accident when she was 2 weeks old. She was adopted by Josepha Roberts, a nurse and friend of her mother who later married Chester S. Mathis.
She graduated from Woodbury College with a Bachelor of Science in fashion arts.
At the end of the war, she agreed to meet Burnell "Bernie" Hobbs halfway and start a new life together in Juneau. He was in Adak, and she was in California.
They were married and resided in Douglas until 1949, when they moved to Pelican. They had two boys, Marion and Melvin.
Filing a homestead claim in 1957, they built the seventh house in the Mendenhall Valley, where she lived until her death.
She was Ted Stevens' congressional assistant from 1970 to 1976, when she became the director of elections for Southeast Alaska. She retired in 1983.
In 1963, her youngest son, Melvin, drowned in the Mendenhall River. The property known as Melvin Park was donated to the Elks Club as a memorial to Melvin.
Although she worked in government, she was best known for her elegant sewing designs, her family said.
She enjoyed gardening and was a member of the Juneau Garden Club, PEO, Eastern Star, Republican Women's group, Salvation Army Auxiliary and many church support groups.
She is survived by her son, Marion Hobbs and wife, Naomi, of Juneau; grandson, Dorion Hobbs, of Port Angeles, Wash.
Funeral services will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at Chapel by the Lake. A reception will follow in Smith Hall.
Robert Williams
Longtime Juneau resident Robert "Double O" or "Somebody" Williams died Sept. 13, 2008, at the Alaska Native Medical Center. He was 65.
A memorial service was held Sept. 19, but the family would like to invite everyone to a 40-day dinner to thank them for their support during a time of loss. The dinner will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, 320 Willoughby Ave.
Cards and Donations can be mailed to Trudy Skan, P.O. Box 22112, Juneau, AK 99802.
