Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Richard W. George Jr.
Richard W. "Buddy" George Jr., 27, a lifelong resident of Angoon, died July 26, 2003, in Angoon. He was born at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital on January 22, 1976.
Buddy graduated from Angoon High School in 1994. He worked various jobs in the community. He had a lifelong love of basketball and played in many local and Gold Medal regional tourneys.
He was preceded in death by sisters, Dixie Lynn George and Christian Ann George. Elders who preceded him included great-grandparents, Willis and Lily George, great-aunt, Emma Hamburg, grandmother, Lillian George, and uncles, Cyril George Jr. and Johnny Hunter.
He is survived by daughters, Kendra Starr and Starr George, and his partner, Denni Starr. Other surviving family members include his parents, Richard George Sr. and Barbara; brothers, Willis George and Edward Jack Sr.; sisters, Jennifer George, Virginia Bigelow and Trina Singson; nieces, Naomi George, Dakota George, Dixie George II, Chenara Kookesh, Talan Jack, Sacajawea Bigelow and Christian Bales; nephews, Jared Jack, Kendrick Demmert, Edward Jack Jr. and Marcelin and Theo Bigelow; grandparents, Cyril and Judy George and Robert and Mary Duncan; uncles and aunts, Joey and Jerilyn George, Jeff George, Byron George, Peter and Mary Jean Duncan, Russell and Vivian James, Thomas "Sonny" and Jennifer Young, Roberta Hunter, Katie Duncan, Alberta Duncan, Anita and Mike Peters, Audrey and John Howard Jr. and many cousins.
The memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, at the ANB Hall in Angoon. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4, at the Angoon ANB Hall.
Donations can be mailed to Richard George Sr., P.O. Box 40, Angoon, AK 99820, (907) 788-3771. Donations may also be made to Dana Ruaro at the Tlingit-Haida Central Council, 463-7103 or Jerry Bennett at 789-3108.
Honorary pallbearers include Peter Jack Sr., Frank Jack Sr., Clarence Jackson, Russell James, Sonny Young, Dosie Merculief, Jeffrey M. George, Byron George and Joey George.
Active pallbearers will be Kevin O'Brien, Guy Hunter, Marti Fred, Randy Gamble, Michael Jensen, Rod Jackson, Ralph Johnson, Tony Johnson Jr., Edward Jackson Jr., Richard Porter, Travis Woodbury, John Merculief, Willis George, Byron George II, Edward Jack Sr., Tyson Brooks, Edward Kookesh Jr., Gary Edwin, Elton Willard and John Howard Jr.
For information regarding travel arrangements and donations, call Dana Ruaro at the Tlingit-Haida Central Council, 463-7103.
Joe L. Chase
Former Juneau resident Joe L. Chase died July 25, 2003, at his home after a long illness.
Joe was born in Burlington, Wash., on Feb. 22, 1924. The son of Fred H. and Gladys S. Chase, Joe attended Burlington-Edison High School before joining the U.S. Navy in May 1944.
Joe and his first wife, Marie C. (Maistorovich) Chase, were married in Milwaukee, Wis., and soon moved to Seattle, Wash., where they had a daughter and a son.
After working for Todd Shipyard and Boeing in Seattle, Joe began a career that spanned 30 years. He worked for the federal government in Alaska.
Joe moved to Juneau in July 1969. He remained in Juneau for the next 11 years, holding several positions including housing officer. He retired as supervisory contract administrator in July 1980 after 26 1/2 years with the BIA.
In 1976, Joe married Francille B. (Lawrence) Nerger and became the stepfather to a daughter and two sons. After their retirement, Joe and Fran moved from Juneau to Puget Sound in Washington state. Joe and Fran moved to the Skagit Valley in Washington state in 1990.
Joe was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Sitka, Juneau and Mount Vernon, Wash. He was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. While living in Juneau, Joe was inducted as an honorary member of the Tlingit tribe.
Joe is survived by his wife, Fran Chase; daughter, Julianne Chase (Kevin) Patton of Seattle; son, Michael (Laurie) F. Chase of Portland, Ore.; stepdaughter, Bobbi (Dave) Arndt of Tacoma, Wash.; stepson, Lawrence (Rex) Nerger of Belfair, Wash.; stepson, Chuck Nerger of Edmonds, Wash.; sisters-in-law, Winnie D. Harner and Kathi Macari of Dana Point, Calif., and brother-in-law, Dick Lawrence of Smokey Point, Wash.
He also is survived by six grandsons, Sean Joseph (Renee) Chase of Ames, Iowa and the U.S. Navy, Norfolk, Va.; Ian Carey and Jaime Chase of Anchorage; Elliott Lee Chase of Portland, Ore.; Chad Nerger of Edmonds, Wash.; Stephan Nerger of Edmonds, Wash., and Elijah Nerger, Big Lake, Wash. He is also survived by six great-grandchildren, Abigayle and Olivia Chase of Ames, Iowa, Angelin Whitney, Eric, Jacob and Eden Marie Chase of Anchorage, and many nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will take place at 1 p.m. Friday at Burlington Cemetery, 1183 Gardner Road, Burlington, Wash.
Floral remembrances may be sent in care of Hawthorne Funeral Home at 1825 E. College Way, Mount Vernon, Wash., 98273; phone, (360) 424-1154. Memorial contributions may be made to the VFW or Hospice of Skagit County.
Joseph Henry Paddock
Joseph Henry Paddock, Tleineek' of the LukaaX.adi Clan, 99, died on July 22, 2003, in the Pioneers' Home in Sitka.
Born on June 8, 1904, at Excursion Inlet, he was one of 12 children born to William Henry Paddock of Indiana and Anna Tagcook from Haines. He attended Sheldon Jackson School through sixth grade and worked at many jobs and logging camps around Southeast Alaska and Juneau.
He married Elizabeth Mary Cropley in Juneau on Sept. 8, 1934. He worked as a pilebuck, then owner/contractor of Cropley Construction Co. In 1939, he moved his family to Pelican, where he was instrumental in the beginnings of the community and helped build the flume, dam, and many docks and boardwalks through the years. He lived in Pelican until 1982, when he and his wife moved to the Pioneers' Home, returning to Pelican for summer visits.
Along with Walter Soboleff, Ray Paddock and Tom Paddock, he was one of the original founders of the Tenakee ANB Camp No. 76. Grandchildren remember him paying their annual membership dues and explaining the importance of this organization.
Family members said he loved to cook and became well known for his smoked and pickled fish following his retirement. His unique processing of all traditional foods was shared with family and friends.
"He loved to tell stories and believed that family, friends and a good sense of humor were life's greatest gifts," said a family member.
Joe was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Elizabeth Mary, and daughter, Vivian Ann Max.
He was survived by his brother, Raymond E. (Edna) Paddock of Tenakee; children Charles "Snuffy" (Mary) Paddock of Haines, Bill (Ude) Paddock of Pelican, Caroline "Babe" (Claude) Odell of Pelican and Roxanne E. (Dennis) Houston of Sitka; 16 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Roscoe Glenn Max, William Joseph Paddock, Dennis Leonard Houston, Martin Paddock, Tom Paddock Jr., and Joseph E. Paddock. Honorary pallbearers will be Raymond Paddock, Victor Stepenanenko, Steve Young, John Howard, Jim Allen, Glen Howard, Claude K. Odell, Dennis Houston Sr., Roscoe H. Max Jr. and Carl Anselm Sr.
Services were held on July 26 at the Sitka Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Walter Soboleff officiated.
Paulette Alden
Juneau resident Paulette Alden, 49, died on July 22, 2003. Services will be held at noon on Tuesday, July 29, at the Alaska Mortuary and Alaskan Memorial Park on Riverside Drive. All family and friends are invited to attend.
She was born on Dec. 24, 1953, in Hartford, Conn. She came from a very large family with 16 siblings, eight of who are surviving.
Family members said she was known to many as someone to depend on, and she enjoyed the company of others. Her daughter said she was a loving mother, grandmother and dear friend who enjoyed fishing, arts and crafts, volunteer work and faithfully donating her time to the Juneau Senior Center at Mountain View Apartments.
She is survived by her sisters, Shirly Strich of Colorado, Linda Baker of Florida, Mary Starkey of Vermont, Sheila Pierce of Florida and Cindy Hughes of New York; brothers Paul Johnson of Kentucky, Phillit Trace of Kansas and Robert Trace of Connecticut; children Cynthia Ferguson of Juneau and Rachael Alden of Anchorage; and grandchildren John Jr., Domanic, David and Kaleb of Anchorage, and Tiana, Natasha and Alexander of Juneau.
Pallbearers will be John Salyers, George Bourdukofsky, Robert Ferguson, Patrick Neufeld, P.J. Young and Dience Grimm. Honorary pallbearers will be Shawn Tucker and Dakota McLaughlin.
Donovan McGee
Former Juneau resident Donovan "Don" McGee, 95, died June 26, 2003, in Sitka.
He was born on June 10, 1908, in Buffalo Springs, Texas.
Although he is remembered in Sitka as a fisherman, barkeeper and owner, his family said he took pride in his cowboy heritage. After his father's death, his grandfather took him in along with his mother and three siblings. He moved to Wyoming when he was 6 and grew up with old cowhands such as his uncle, Sam Aldrich, who ranched until he was 90 on a spread adjacent to Buffalo Bill's, near Cody.
McGee boxed in amateur matches and had a good record, including a regional Golden Gloves championship.
In 1926, he was breaking horses for a rancher outside of Burns, Ore. A year later, he was offered a job as deputy and stayed on as a lawman for three years. He occasionally arrested and jailed some of his former companions.
His cowboy adventures are detailed in the 1992 book "The Last Cowboy" by Jo Rainbolt.
During World War II, he came to Alaska as a Seabee for the construction of the Excursion Inlet port of embarkation. After the war, he was planning to travel to South America until he met Rosetta Femmer, a daughter of Juneau pioneers. They were married, and he traded in his spurs for a fishing boat. The couple and their sons, Wes and Dave, made their homes in Pelican, Juneau and Douglas, while he fished and bought and tendered fish for Larry Freeburn. In the off-season, he tended bar and was a familiar face behind the plank at Jack Kristen's Alaska Hotel Bar. He later owned Don's Club 22 in Douglas, and during those years, Rose cooked for Mike's Place, also in Douglas.
The McGees moved to Tenakee Springs in 1962 and bought the Tenakee Tavern. He fished crab aboard his boat, the Elizabeth, for the O'Tooles' Totem Seafoods cannery.
He was one of the three sponsors of a petition for incorporation of the city of Tenakee Springs, and he served on the city council for several terms.
Rose's ill health forced their retirement in 1974. They continued to live in Tenakee, and he kept busy on the council and later as the town's public works director.
In the 1980s, they moved to Juneau and subsequently to the Sitka Pioneers' Home, where Rose died in 1996.
Until failing health intervened, he frequently could be found in the Pioneers' Home shop working on projects.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Rosetta, and son, Dave.
He is survived by his son, Wes McGee of Crestline, Calif.; grandchildren Donovan McGee of Crestline, Calif., Joylynn Blake of Haines, Dave Dunn of Ferndale, Wash., Donna Giogioni of Anchorage and Stacey McKinney of St. Louis, Mo.; and great-grandchildren in Alaska, California and Missouri.
Services were held on July 5 at the Sitka Pioneers' Home Chapel.
Contributions may be made in his memory to the Sitka Pioneers' Home, Site Council, 120 Katlian St., Sitka, or to a favorite charity.
