Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Leila Eileen Truax
Juneau resident Leila Eileen Truax, 80, died Jan. 23, 2002, in Juneau.
She was born Jan. 28, 1922, in Herman, Neb., and was a homemaker. She moved to Juneau in 2000.
She is survived by sons Michael Ray Truax and Robert Louis Truax, both of Juneau.
There will be no services at the request of the deceased.
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.
Thomas L. Bearden
Longtime Juneau and Ketchikan resident Thomas L. Bearden died Dec. 1, 1998, in Seattle, after a long battle with cancer.
He was born Dec. 17, 1941, in Toledo, Ohio. He was a 12-year resident of Ketchikan and a 25-year resident of Juneau. He served with the Alaska Marine Highway for almost 25 years, and was chief steward on the M/V LeConte and M/V Columbia. He was the founder and first chairman of the Eagle Investment Club of Juneau. He also loved his Harley.
He is survived by his wife, Vivian Bearden of Juneau, daughter Renee (and Tony) Hinton of Idaho, Daughter Kathy (and Victor) Forrester of Ketchikan, son Jason (and Kris) Spear of Ketchikan, son Alex Bearden of Juneau, brother Donald (and Mary Jane) Bearden of Texas, grandchildren Kala, Landon and Mariah Hinton of Idaho, Caleb and Cody Forester of Ketchikan, Rachel and Martin Robeker and Dalton Spear of Ketchikan, and numerous nieces and nephews in Minnesota and Texas.
He was preceded in death by his son, Thomas Roy of Ketchikan and his brother, Ray Bearden of Ohio.
Memorial services were held Saturday, Dec. 5 in Seattle.
Donations can be made in memory of Thomas L. Bearden to Swedish Medical Center Foundation, Cancer Patient Assistance Fund, 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA, 98122
Nancy Flint Harris
Longtime Juneau resident Nancy Flint Harris died Nov. 28, 1998, at her home in Petersburg, following a long illness. She was 46.
She was born Aug. 29, 1952, in Juneau. She attended Harborview Grade School and graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School in 1970. She worked off and on at her parents' business in Juneau, the Nugget Department Store in Nugget Mall, and attended the University of Montana in Missoula. She graduated with a journalism degree in 1978, returned to Juneau, and worked for a time as a reporter for the Juneau Empire.
She married Dean Harris in 1974 at her parents' home on Lena Cove. The couple built an A-frame home together on Engineer's Cutoff road in the mid 1970s. She was active in the Juneau chapter of the American Association of University Women.
The couple had two children, Kyle and Claire, and in 1984 the family moved to Petersburg. She worked as a receptionist in the Petersburg office of Dr. Tom Wood. She and her husband were partners in several Petersburg businesses, most recently, Harris Building Supply.
She was active in various community service efforts: as a Girl Scout troop leader and leader trainer, as a founding member of Partners in Education and as a founding member of a cancer support group. She was twice elected to the school board, and served as board president from 1994-1996.
Her friends write that she approached her responsibilities with the school board with rigorous effort, fairness of mind, and concern for the need of schoolchildren. She was devoted to her family, and the design and development of her garden on the Wrangell Narrows. She was a fine businesswoman, with a keen sense of order.
She enjoyed camping and hiking. She climbed the Chilkoot trail on her honeymoon, and in 1997 with her children in a family camping adventure. She loved the outdoors, working in her garden, walking and cross-country skiing. She read widely and loved reading to her children and their friends.
Memorial services were held Dec. 1 at her gardens beside the Narrows.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Donna Flint of Juneau. She is survived by her husband of 24 years, Dean; her children, Kyle and Claire; her brother Rocky and sister-in-law Sue Flint of Petersburg and their children Casey and Caryn; her brother Ron and sister-in-law Julie Flint of Juneau and their children Keath and Chelsea; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Phil and Garnette Harris, of Petersburg; in-laws Dianne Harris and Darrell Batchelor of California, Debbie and Dave Fraza and their children Jessie and John Murray and Hollie Fraza, all of California; aunt and uncle Ruth and Warren Young, and their children Bill, Doug and Lisa, all of Oregon; and friends Patti Norheim of Petersburg, Linda Ward of Washington, and Marijo Toner of Juneau, and numerous other friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Nancy Harris Memorial Scholarship, established to support the future college plans for a promising eighth-grade Petersburg graduate. These may be sent to Petersburg School District, P.O. Box 289, Petersburg, AK, 99833.
Margaret Ann Spehn-Carpenter
Juneau resident Margaret Ann ``Peggy'' Spehn-Carpenter died Aug. 28, 1998, at her home in Juneau, after a five-year fight against breast cancer.
A memorial service will be held at noon on Tuesday at the Shrine of St. Therese.
She was born Feb. 28, 1962, in Burns, Ore. She served as a criminal investigator in the United States Navy, and moved to Juneau in 1993. She worked as a lifeguard, typesetter and resident counselor for the Juneau Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
She was preceded in death by her father, James R. Spehn, and sisters Maureen Spehn and Patsy Bonn. She is survived by her husband Keith Carpenter of Juneau, brothers Barry Spehn of Ontario, Ore., and Dan and Terry Spehn of Las Vegas, Nev., and mother Patricia Spehn of Hines, Ore.
