Alaska School Yearbooks by County
Laura Avenell Shanks (1 of 2)
Former Juneau resident Laura Avenell Shanks, 89, died Jan. 13, 2007, quietly in her sleep at home in Sun City, Ariz.
Born Sept. 8, 1917, in Riverside, Wash., she was the oldest of six brothers and sisters and spent her childhood in Omak, Wash. In the early 1930s, her family moved to Anchorage. She also lived in Nome and Fairbanks, and raised her family in Juneau until 1993, when she moved to Sun City to be close to her sister, Bonnie, and enjoy the warmth and sunshine of Arizona.
Friends and family said she was a true Alaska pioneer; she was a woman of strength, integrity, perseverance and kindness and love for her family and friends.
She received numerous awards and recognition for her professional and volunteer work. She played a big part in establishing the hotel and restaurant employee's union in the territory of Alaska in the 1940s. She worked for the territorial government - state of Alaska, and retired in 1976 as the Department of Revenue chief cashier.
She was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, Pioneers of Alaska, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Toastmasters and Soroptimist International and Bridge clubs. She traveled around the world on cargo ships with her late husband, Jesse Shanks, and loved to go on cruises with her family.
Family and friends said she will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Paddock and her husband, Carl; grandchildren, Debbie Grundmann and her husband, Jerry, Kim Horn, Mitch Horn and his wife, Tina; grandchildren's father, Tom Horn; six great grandchildren, Alex and Alexis Grundmann, Ryan Martin, and Ashley, Jessie and Braeden Horn; sisters, Bonnie Poole-Yingling and Elsie Burton; brothers, Wayne Martin and Harry Lee Martin; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Janet and Ed Cavagnaro and David McDonld, of Juneau.
Services will be Jan. 30 in Sun City.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Hospice of the Valley, 9720 West Peoria, Suite #128, Peoria, AZ, 85345, or to her favorite animal charity, Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanah, Utah, 84741.
Laura Avenell Shanks (2 of 2)
Former Juneau resident Laura Avenell Shanks died Jan. 13, 2007, at home in Sun City, Ariz. She was 89.
Born Sept. 8, 1917, in Riverside, Wash., she was the oldest of six brothers and sisters and spent her childhood in Omak, Wash. In the early 1930s, her family moved to Anchorage.
She also lived in Nome and Fairbanks, and raised her family in Juneau until 1993, when she moved to Sun City to be close to her sister, Bonnie, and enjoy the warmth and sunshine of Arizona.
Friends and family said she was a true Alaska pioneer; she was a woman of strength, integrity, perseverance and kindness and love for her family and friends.
She received numerous awards and recognition for her professional and volunteer work. She played a big part in establishing the hotel and restaurant employee's union in the territory of Alaska in the 1940s. She worked for the territorial government - state of Alaska, and retired in 1976 as the Department of Revenue chief cashier.
She was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, Pioneers of Alaska, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Toastmasters and Soroptimist International and Bridge clubs. She traveled around the world on cargo ships with her late husband, Jesse Shanks, and loved to go on cruises with her family.
Family and friends said she will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Paddock and her husband, Carl; grandchildren, Debbie Grundmann and her husband, Jerry, Kim Horn, Mitch Horn and his wife, Tina; grandchildren's father, Tom Horn; six great grandchildren, Alex and Alexis Grundmann, Ryan Martin, and Ashley, Jessie and Braeden Horn; sisters, Bonnie Poole-Yingling and Elsie Burton; brothers, Wayne Martin and Harry Lee Martin; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Janet and Ed Cavagnaro and David McDonld, of Juneau.
Services will be held Tuesday in Sun City.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Hospice of the Valley, 9720 West Peoria, Suite No. 128, Peoria, AZ, 85345, or to her favorite animal charity, Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, Utah, 84741.
Walter Hermes
Former Juneau resident Walter Emmerson Hermes of Edgewood, Wash., died Jan. 22, 2007, in his home. He was 76.
He was born Dec. 27, 1930, in Pekin, Ill, the son of the late William and Alice Hermes. He graduated from Pekin High School in 1951 and married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Eggena, on Dec. 7, 1952. In 1960, they moved with their two children to Juneau, where he worked for the state of Alaska before retiring in 1980 and moving to Versailles, Mo. In 1993, he moved to Edgewood, where he lived with his son and family.
He was preceded in death by his wife; infant son, Daniel Hermes; and two brothers, Eugene and William Hermes.
He was survived by his sons, Dennis Hermes and his wife, Linnea, of Edgewood, and Robin Hermes, of Panguitch, Utah; sister, Clara Mabee of Pekin, Ill.; grandchildren, Trista Burns, Creighton Hermes, Rory Hermes and Jeremy Hermes; five great grandchildren; and several grandnieces and grandnephews.
Viewing will be today, memorial services will be Friday and graveside services will be Jan. 30 in Missouri. Arrangements for interment will be under the direction of Scrivner Funeral Home.
At the request of the family, please send donations in his name to the Polio Outreach of Washington, 4704 235th St. E., Spanaway, WA, 98387 in lieu of flowers.
Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home.
Kevin Guy Wilson
Kevin Guy Wilson died Jan. 16, 2007, in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He was 28.
He was born Jan. 23, 1978, in Anchorage and attended Birchwood Elementary before moving to Juneau, where he attended Marie Drake Middle School and Juneau-Douglas High School.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1996. Upon leaving, he returned to Alaska until he moved to Medford, Ore., where he worked for Jackson and Perkins and the Red Lion Hotel. Returning to Alaska in 2003, he was employed by Diamonds International and most recently Venetian Jewelers.
He enjoyed drawing, making people laugh and playing pool. Family members said he had a gift of gab, which helped him succeed and enjoy being a salesman.
He is survived by his mother, Kathy Wilson, of Juneau; father, Butch Wilson, of Washington; grandparents, Gilbert and June Wilson of Washington; brother, Trent Wilson of Juneau; sons, Grey Wilson of Kenai, and Gabriel Wilson of Medford; aunts and uncles, Shirley and Larry Matheny of Petersburg, Karen and Paul Dillon of Juneau, Rick and Rachel Kasnick of Juneau, Dawn Knight of California, and Diane Koger,of California; and many cousins.
Pallbearers will be Ed Birchell, Don Caples, Tion Kasnick, Rory Kasnick, Todd Harper, Jason Vonda, John Lowe and Frank Willams. Honorary pallbearers are Curtis and Greg Birchell, Zack and Callahan Dillon and Will and Matt Emerson.
Services will be held at noon Saturday at Northern Light United Church, 400 W. 11th St., with a viewing from 11 a.m. to noon. A reception will be held at The Island Pub in Douglas following the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made the American Social Health Assn., Attn: Gift Processing, P.O. Box 13827, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709.
Margaret Leibowitz
Juneau resident Margaret Leibowitz died Jan. 12, 2007, in Juneau. She was 78.
She was born Jan. 9, 1929, in Columbus, Mont.
She and her husband, Sy Leibowitz, moved to Alaska in 1960 to teach in rural schools. They taught in Hollis, Russian Mission and Tok. They moved to Juneau in 1963 when she then accepted a job with the Alaska State Library. She worked for the Alaska State Library from 1963 to 1985 and retired after serving as deputy director for many years.
As deputy director for the state library system, she helped numerous Alaska communities establish local libraries. She was one of the incorporating members of the Alaska Library Association and was active in the Pacific Northwest Library Association. After retiring from civil service, she volunteered for Friends of the Library.
Family members said that she will be missed by friends and colleagues, as well as by family.
She is survived by her husband, of Juneau; daughter, Beth Leibowitz, of Juneau; and members of her Montana family: sister, Martha Ekwortzel, nieces, Jeannette Ostrum and Georgia Marvin, nephew, Richard Michael and their children and grandchildren.
No services are planned at this point.
The family requests that instead of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Juneau Friends of the Library, 292 Marine Way, Juneau, AK, 99801, or the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, 206 N. Franklin St., Juneau, AK, 99801.
