Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Eva Davis
Hoonah resident Eva Davis died Jan. 27, 2003, at her home in Hoonah with her grandchildren by her side. She was 93.
Takdeintaan yedi, Sai'lshex, of the Chookaneidi clan, she was born on April 12, 1909, to John and Susie Isaac James at Tee Harbor. She was a longtime cannery worker, and nurse's aide midwife. She was a lifetime member of ANS Camp No. 12.
She was preceded in death by her husbands George Davis, Frank Wilson, George Bell; 12 children; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and siblings Mary Joanne Johnson and Wilbur "Jumbo" James Sr.
She is survived by grandchildren Mary Joanne Felipe, Elaine Knudson, Celeste Garcia, Ken Willard, Thomas Bell and George Bell, all of Juneau; Wilbur Knudson of Hoonah; John Bell Jr. of Sitka; and David Bell of Anchorage; great-granddaughter and caretaker Teresita Escalante. She also is survived by 18 other great-grandchildren, 19 great-great-grandchildren, and her sister Jennie Lindoff of Hoonah.
Pallbearers will be Walter Jewell Sr., Johnny Bell Jr., Thomas Bell, Thomas James, Bernard Wolf and Sam Willard.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. at the ANB Hall in Hoonah, with the funeral service and burial at 1 p.m. To contact the family, call Mary Joanne at 723-3854.
Suzanne 'Suzie' Hepler Williams
Haines resident Suzanne "Suzie" Hepler Williams, 66, died Jan. 27, 2003, in Juneau.
She was born Feb. 18, 1936, in Battle Creek, Mich. She spent most of her life in Haines. She was adopted into the Raven clan by the late Jack David, and taught herself the Tlingit language, learning to speak Tlingit fluently.
Her family said she loved her husband's Tlingit culture, writing poems, gardening and putting up any kind of Native food, sewing and Native arts. They said she loved her community and always was ready to help people.
She is preceded in death by her brother, Chuck.
She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Thomas B. Williams Sr.; her 10 children, Thomas "Sonny", Walter, Tony, Mark, Charlie, Tina, Ella, Adeline, Johanna and Patricia; brothers Terry, Ron and Tom; sisters Leona, Cindy, Sally, Joan, Ethel and Ruby; 18 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the ANB Hall in Haines at 1 p.m. Saturday Feb. 1.
Marilyn Ruth Ryan
Former Juneau resident Marilyn Ruth (Vincent) Ryan died Jan. 31, 2003, in Longview, Wash., after a long battle with cancer.
She was born in Seward on March 27, 1935, to Leon and Ruth Vincent. She grew up in the Cook Inlet area, Woody Island, Eklutna, Barrow, Kotzebue and Fairbanks. Her most formative childhood years were spent in the Arctic where her parents taught for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, her family wrote.
She earned bachelor's degrees from Seattle Pacific College and the University of Washington in 1957 and began a career as a registered nurse. She married Ted Ryan in 1957 and moved to Juneau in August of 1959. They raised five children in Juneau, and helped to raise her brother and sister-in-law Dave and Chris Vincent's children after the couple died. The Ryans also worked for Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka from 1971 to 1975, where Marilyn served as campus nurse.
Marilyn was an active member of the Chapel by the Lake for more than 35 years. She enjoyed family activities, knitting, picking berries, Bible study groups, her weekly sewing group and walks on the beach. Marilyn and Ted moved to Gustavus in 1997 and lived there very briefly until they moved to Longview, Wash., in July of 2000 when hemodialysis facilities were not available in Juneau.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Ruth Vincent; father, Leon Vincent; brother, Dave Vincent; nephew David Vincent; and niece Jean Haynes.
She is survived by her husband, Ted Ryan, of Longview, Wash.; brother Michael (Kim) Vincent of Seattle and their children Kate, Sarah and Shannon; sons Jim (Laura) Ryan of Juneau and their children Katy, Kelly and Jackie, Timothy (Carolee) Ryan of Juneau and their children Kristina, Tom, Becca McRae, Jessica Ryan, and Robert Ryan and Jim Harper of Portland, Ore.; daughters Laurie Ryan of Juneau and Ruth Ryan of Haines; nephew Stuart Vincent of Craig, nieces Ruth Vincent, Kathy Thomas, Freddy Cummins, and Chrissy VanSickle, all of Juneau, Norma Wivoda of Fairbanks, and numerous great-nieces and nephews.
Condolences can be sent to Ted Ryan, 1034 9th Ave., Longview, Wash., 98632. Contributions can be made in Marilyn's name to the Bartlett Regional Hospital Foundation, Dialysis Fund, 3260 Hospital Drive, Juneau, AK 99801.
A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2003, at Chapel by the Lake.
Richard 'Dick' E. Stickel
Former Juneau resident Richard "Dick" E. Stickel, 85, died April 30, 2003, in Brea, Calif.
He was born April 22, 1918, in Etna, Calif., a small town in Siskiyou county near the Oregon border. After graduation from local high school he enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1942. After college he married Myrtle June Wilson, and enlisted in the Navy in the Civil Engineering Corps.
After leaving the Navy, he began his career in highway engineering with the state of California. He advanced in the California Division of Highways until 1960 when he accepted a position with the newly forming State of Alaska Department of Highways. He began his career in Juneau but accepted the position as the first district highway engineer in Valdez. In 1961, he was promoted to state highway construction engineer in Juneau. As the state construction engineer, he oversaw the development of Alaska's highways, most notably the carving out of the wilderness the 362-mile Anchorage-Fairbanks route, which came to be known as Parks Highway (Alaska 3). When he left Alaska, he entered private practice civil engineering and worked on many highway and rapid transit projects in California, Maryland, Vancouver, Hawaii and Peru.
He is survived by his wife, Myrtle, and sons Glenn (Teri), Frank (Jeanne) and Brandt (Jeannie), all of California; and grandchildren Mark, Kate, Brandon and Nathan of California and Mark Bailey of Washington.
Services were held on May 10 in Canyon Lake, Calif., with final internment in Etna, Calif. Memorial donations may be made to the Canyon Lake Church Memorial Fund, 30515 Railroad Canyon Road, Canyon Lake, CA, 92587.
Jacob (Jake) L. Hoffman
Former pastor and missionary Jacob L. Hoffman, 86, died May 22, 2003 in Juneau.
Hoffman was born to Louis and Katie (Harder) Hoffman in Munich, N.D. He farmed with his father until age 24, when he married Hilda Louise Ortman of Munich, N.D. May 22, 1941.
Soon after their wedding, they went to Chicago to study at Moody Bible Institute. Hoffman served as pastor at the Bethel Mennonite Church of Lustre, Mont., for 10 years. He also assisted in the start of the Lustre Bible Academy, a Christian high school.
Hoffman and his family moved to Juneau in 1954 to help operate the Minfield Children's Home. He soon became involved in a Sunday school and church services in a house in Auke Bay, the beginnings of the Auke Bay Bible Church. Hoffman was the church's first pastor, serving there until 1963. In 1956, he purchased property in Auke Bay, on which the church was built.
In 1964, Hoffman and his wife held the first youth camp at what is now the Echo Ranch Bible Camp, located at Berners Bay. He served as camp director until 1968.
Later Hoffman served at the Calvary Bible Church in Ketchikan and the Port Chilkoot Bible Church. He also assisted at churches in Metlakatla and Petersburg. In 1975, Hoffman and his wife moved to Prince of Wales Island, where he started the Craig Bible Church and conducted Bible studies at a number of logging camps, including Thorne Bay, Naukati, Whale Pass and Hollis.
Hoffman retired to Juneau in 1982 and remained active in Church and camp work. He also enjoyed fishing and hunting, and regaled others with his stories until a month before his death.
Hoffman is survived by his wife, and children Dillene and Stan Love of Oregon, Paul and ChongUn Hoffman of Auke Bay, Verlin and Kathy Hoffman of Juneau, and Daryl and Laralee Hoffman of Washington. He also had 12 grandchildren: Karen and Marty Lange, Brian and Shelle Love, Amy and Matt McKinley, Andrew Hoffman, Anna Hoffman, Jaren Hoffman, Ana Hoffman, Bradley Hoffman and Rachelle Hoffman. He had six great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Auke Bay Bible Church. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Donations may be made to Moody Bible Institute at 820 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL, 60610, or to the Echo Ranch Bible Camp, P.O. Box 210608, Auke Bay, AK, 99821.
M. Cleone Sylvester
Juneau resident M. Cleone Sylvester, 79, died May 8, 2003, in Juneau.
She was born Aug. 16, 1923, in Island Pond, Vt., to Malvina and William Riggie. She graduated from Brighton High School at age 16, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Vermont in 1944 and a law degree from St. John's Law School.
In 1951, she married Roger Sylvester of Essex Junction, Vt., and they moved to Quinalt, Wash. In the early years of their marriage, they lived in Washington, Arizona and Florida. In 1965, they moved to Juneau.
She worked as a teacher, a Liberty Ship welder during World War II, a State Farm Insurance employee from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s and as a State of Alaska legislative aide from the mid-1970s to 1980.
She was an avid hunter in her younger years and a duplicate master bridge player. In the 1970s, they spent time at their cabin in Tenakee. During the 1980s, they sailed S.V. Robrian throughout the Pacific for 10 years, spending considerable time in Mexico, Tahiti, American Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines.
Her family said she "led an adventurous life and could truly say that she had led a life full of dreams."
She is survived by her husband, Roger Sylvester of Juneau; sons, Brian (Linda) Sylvester of Juneau, and Rob (Debra Hart) Sylvester of Fairbanks; grandchildren, Brandon and Rob Sylvester of Juneau, Sean, Forrest and Mackenzie Sylvester of Fairbanks; brothers, Bill Riggie of Henderson, Nev., and Brian Riggie of Island Pond, Vt.; and sister, Thelma Pontbriand of Auburn, Maine.
Please send donations to the American Cancer Society.
