Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Steward Miller
Longtime Alaska resident Steward "Sam" Miller, 75, died Sept. 27, 2005, in Portland.
He was born Oct. 20, 1930, in Longmont, Colo., to Lowell "Shorty" and Grace Miller. His family moved to the coast of Oregon in the early 1940s. He attended Coquille High in Coquille, Ore., and married his high school sweetheart Shirley Morgan. After serving a tour of duty in the Navy, he moved his family to Ketchikan in 1954. He worked for Ketchikan Pulp at Hollis and Sitka Pulp where he joined the Operating Engineers, during the construction of the Sitka Pulp Mill.
He could be called a "construction boomer," because he worked on projects from Ketchikan to Barrow during his long career. He worked for Green Construction for most of his career settling in Fairbanks during the construction of the Alaska pipeline. He retired his hard hat in 1986 and returned to the coast of Oregon to his "gentleman's" ranch in Coquille.
Family members said, "Dad's journey in life took him to many places in Alaska, but Southeast was his favorite because of the time spent hunting and fishing with family and friends."
He was preceded in death by his father and mother.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley Ann Miller of Winston, Ore.; brother, Jerry Miller of Coos Bay, Ore.; brother, Lowell "Butch" (Dee) Miller of Boulder City, Nev.; sons, Larry (Penny) Miller of Juneau, Terry (Karil) Miller of Juneau; Greg (Marcia) Miller of Wasilla; and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on May 20 at Coos Bay Chapel, 685 Anderson St., Coos Bay. Shirley Miller can be contacted at P.O. Box 2846, Winston, OR, 97496.
Robert Butler
Juneau resident Robert Thomas Butler, 51, died April 14, 2006, on Good Friday in Juneau from heart failure.
He was born on Nov. 8, 1954, in Fort Myers, Fla. He had lived in Alaska for 24 years.
He was the director of Gastineau Human Services. He worked for Lyle's furniture when he first moved to Juneau in 1982, before he began working for the Department of Corrections, and then Gastineau Human Services.
According to his family, he spent many hours on the waters of Southeast Alaska in his favorite pastime of fishing with his friends and family.
They said, "He always remarked that his three greatest accomplishments in his life were his children, Robbie, Matthew and Bethany. Rob was a loving husband and father and had many friends and family members who loved and respected him."
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1973 to 1977, in various locations including Spain, Lebanon and Italy, as well as Camp LeJeune and Cherry Point, N.C.
He was preceded in death by his father, Fred Butler; and mother, Viola Holzhauer.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon; sons, Matthew of Juneau and Robert (Laura) Butler of Bradenton, Fla.; daugher, Bethany of Juneau; sisters, Tonia (Ron) Wilson of Fort Myers, and Tammy (Wayne) Bortz of Tennessee; brother, Mike (Mindy) Butler of Michigan; stepmother, Brenda (Malcolm) Biggar of Fort Myers; nephew, Rick Fauquet of Florida; and many uncles, aunts and cousins in Florida.
Viewing will be at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, with services immediately following at 5:30 p.m. at the First Church of God, located at 2215 Ka-See-An Drive. There will be a reception after the services for friends and family. Graveside services will be at the Alaska Memorial Park at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 21.
Pallbearers will be U.S. Marine Corp Honor Guard members.
Emma Horton
Juneau resident Emma Horton, 86, died March 15, 2006, in Juneau.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. on April 19 at the Alaska Memorial Park in Juneau.
Memorial 40-day dinner will be held at 5 p.m. on April 27 at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall in Juneau. Family and friends are invited. The family may be contacted at 586-1763.
Lucille Lawrence
Former Juneau resident Lucille Iva Lawrence, 91, died April 11, 2006, in Hood River, Ore.
She was born Sept. 16, 1914, in Snoqualmie, Wash., to Russell and Inez (Thorpe) Brown, and she was raised in Juneau.
On April 22, 1933, she and Carson Lawrence were married. She and her husband owned a bakery in Juneau for almost 40 years, before moving to Salem, Ore., in 1975. Carson died in October 1990. She moved to Hood River, Ore., in 1999. She was a member of Eastern Star and the First Christian Church in Salem.
Family members said she "enjoyed spending time with her family, sewing, the garden club and floral arranging."
She is survived by her two daughters, Lois (Lee) Nance of Hood River and Carol (John) Livie of Salem; son, Carson "Kit" (Jolie) Lawrence Jr., of Rio Rico, Ariz.; and 12 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and 12 great-great grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Gorge or the Eastern Star Home in Forest Grove, c/o Anderson's Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont, Hood River, OR, 97031.
Private family services will be held.
Thomas McBrien
Juneau resident Thomas F. McBrien, 60, died April 3, 2006, of cancer on at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.
He served as Director of Business Operations at the University of Alaska Southeast for the past four years and was involved in various aspects of accounting and finance throughout his career. He held an undergraduate degree in political science from St. Michael's College in Vermont, and a Master of Business Administration in Accounting from Cornell University. He served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971.
According to his family, he was a "quintessential lifelong learner." In recent years, he studied art and music through distance education courses.
Family members said, "Tom loved life. He loved learning. He loved his family. He loved Alaska, and he loved to fly. He felt he was truly the luckiest man in the world."
He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas F. McBrien, who died in 1955.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Jean-Marie; daughter, Colleen (Dave) McKenna; son, Tom (Julie) McBrien; two grandchildren, Seamus and Erin McBrien - all of Juneau; mother, Mary E. McBrien of New Hyde Park, N.Y.; sister, Ellen (David) Courchene of Wayland, Mass.; and brother, William (Christine) McBrien of Milford, N.H.; niece, Maggie McBrien; nephews, Keith McBrien, Matthew Courchene and Brien Courchene.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on April 18 at the Cathedral of the Nativity on Fifth Street in Juneau. A reception hosted by the family will be held immediately after the service in the Treadwell Room at the Baranof Hotel. All are welcome to attend.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the building of the community playground at Twin Lakes. Early in the 1980s, he chaired the building of a Robert Leathers playground in Ontario, N.Y., at his children's school and looked forward to participating in building a similar playground for his grandchildren in Juneau. Checks should be made payable to "Project Playground," and can be mailed to Jean McBrien, 300 Hermit St., Unit 10, Juneau, AK, 99801.
