Curtis Ledford Jr. Dies; Longtime Sitkan was 78

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Created on Wednesday, 16 February 2022 12:53

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Curtis (Curt) Ledford Jr.

Curtis (Curt) Ledford Jr. passed away peacefully on February 5, 2022. He was 78.

Curt had lived in Sitka since 1985; 35 years in his home, and the last year or so at the Sitka Pioneers Home.

He was born December 14, 1943, in Vancouver, Washington, to Curtis Ledford Sr. and Rachel (Ackley) Ledford. Curt’s parents were high school teachers in Vancouver, and moved to Longview, Washington, to teach when Curt was in third grade. Curt greatly enjoyed growing up a small town. He played football in middle school and high school, and was active in most school sports. His father was a history teacher and a PE teacher, and had been a noted track star, so Curt was always happy in the world of sports, as a participant and as a spectator.

He and his father were counselors and climbing guides for YMCA summer camps held at the foot of Mt. St. Helens. Curt had wonderful memories of swimming in Spirit Lake, and climbing Mt. St. Helens with his father. Curt retained an interest in mountaineering, and with friends later climbed Mt. Rainier and other local mountains.

As a student at the University of Washington, Curt met Merlee Markishtum. They were married and had two children: Keith, born in 1965, and Janine, born in 1967. Curt graduated with a degree in anthropology, and moved to Neah Bay, Washington, Merlee’s hometown and the home of the Makah Tribe. Curt became very interested in the history and genealogy of the Makah people. He enjoyed living near the ocean, and also made many good, lifelong friends in the community, most especially Lisa and Norm Down. When he and Merlee divorced, Curt chose to remain in Neah Bay and raise their two children there.

At Neah Bay, Curt became director of one of the first Head Start programs in the country. He traveled extensively around the United States, and was active in producing national policies for the U.S. Head Start program. He was also very much a hands-on instructor, and loved taking Head Start children to the beaches and learning about marine life. This also began a life-long interest in marine biology for him.

He got his teaching certificate, and taught in the local elementary school, until Keith was ready for high school and Janine was entering middle school.

They moved to Tacoma, Washington, where Curt had been hired by the Puyallup Tribal School System, which had an elementary school, Chief Leschi. The school was very experimental. Curt was part of a team of three teachers and two paraprofessionals who ran that classroom. Curt’s hands-on experiments, his slightly outrageous and disheveled outfits, and his calm, steady manner with kids made him an instant hit with his students.

He also met his wife Sandra Fontaine at Chief Leschi. She was a new teacher, struggling to learn the intricacies of the copying machine, and he often stopped to help her fix it.

They discovered they had much in common. Besides basic philosophies of life and politics, both loved to read and learn, were single parents, were  born in southwest Washington, graduated from the University of Washington, and were born on December 14.

Curt and Sandra lived in Tacoma for about six years in a large older home with generous back and front yard. They added three daughters to their family, biological sisters who needed a home. They were Teresa, Beth, and Daisy. So with Curt’s two children, Keith and Janine, and Sandra’s two children, Trevor and Soni, they now had seven kids. During that time they had a wonderful wedding in their back yard, with Makah singing and drumming by Edie and Johnny Hottawe, and a steel drum band originally from Trinidad. Curt and Soni played a violin duet of Ode to Joy as Sandra and the other children walked into the back yard, and all stood together for the wedding ceremony. When the Episcopalian minister pronounced, “Go forth and multiply,” the crowd burst into laughter and applause.

Curt eventually left his teaching job to become director of the Pike Place Market Daycare Center in Seattle. He enjoyed being back with small children, and the interesting politics of working in the city.

 After several years, he and Sandra moved to her hometown of Sitka. There Curt worked for several social service agencies, including SCAODA, and Sitka Alliance for Health. 

He became director of SEARHC community services, which was a large outreach program to help Native families in a variety of ways, both in Sitka and in other communities. He also worked with other department heads to create the basic structure and philosophy for Raven’s Way, a Native American alcohol treatment program. A close friend and fellow worker, Pat Hefley, credits Curt with strongly promoting the inclusion of Native-related outdoor experiences in the program. The program continues to be one of the most successful of its kind in the country.

Curt’s final position was as the director of Sitka Community Schools. He did an outstanding job of building that program into a state-of-the-art community support agency. He and his staff produced a strong after-school program, with sports, science activities, arts, and other special classes of many kinds, and offered another extensive program throughout the summer. Curt wrote many grants that funded a variety of activities, including the 21st Century Learning Program, and the Learn and Serve program, in which elementary students visited the Senior Center to serve lunch and interact with elders. 

They also partnered with others to produce an oral history project, in which high school students, under the supervision of Community Schools staff, interviewed older Sitkans and then recorded their lives and achievements in a series of books loosely titled Conversations With Sitka Elders.

 Curt also wrote a grant that brought the AmeriCorps Program directly into Sitka, rather than Juneau. That program is still flourishing. It brings young college graduates from all over the United States into Sitka to help in classrooms, and other social agencies. Their fresh ideas and energy are a benefit to Sitka, and many of them stay here.

Curt and Norman Campbell created a contract between Community Schools and the city to handle the Recycling Program.

Curt always had strong relationships in his work, and he very much enjoyed and respected his staff: Norm Campbell, Woody Widmark, Faith Lee, Ryan Kaufman, Rick Peterson, Darlene Dehlin, Jetta Budd, Jane Eidler, Barbara Jones, and many others.

After retiring, Curt continued to be active in the community for as long as his health allowed. A voracious reader, he served, and was president of, the Sitka Library Commission for about 10 years. Curt spearheaded a movement to raise funds and convince the city to accept monies for a new addition to the public library. The re-opening of the (now named) Sitka Public Library, was one of Curt’s proudest moments.

Curt also introduced the very successful Sitka Reads program, in which the community was invited to read a chosen Alaskan book, and the author would visit Sitka to read from the book and discuss his/her writing.

When Curt and Sandra retired, they moved to Little Marshall Island in Thimbleberry Bay. They had owned the island for about 20 years, and with the skilled help of friends they had built a small home overlooking Eastern Channel. It was their daydream home, and they spent many hours planning their house. They lived in it for only four years before Curt’s declining health forced them to sell the island. 

Curt and Sandra discovered a mutual love of Italy when they began traveling to Europe to visit daughter Beth in the Netherlands. They loved the architecture, the art, the people and, of course, the gelato.

Curt also enjoyed attending weekly Rotary Club meetings, and his Monday guy lunch with good friends John Stein, Norm Campbell, Ron McClain, Charlie Morgan, and Steve Dalquist.

Curt was pre-deceased by his parents, Curtis and Rachel Ledford; and  sisters Mary Ledford and Shelly Beam.

He is survived by wife Sandra, of Sitka, and children and grandchildren: Keith Ledford (Christi Muoneke), sons Kemji and Mekam; Janine Ledford, children Evan (Heydi) Bowechop, Sandra Bowechop, Neil Bowechop and Nelson Bowechop; Trevor Harang (Tracie), children Justin Harang, Brady Harang and Grace Harang; Sonia Kwon (Trevor Laib), sons Leo Laib and Aiden Laib; Teresa Casey, children Felicia Solomon, Kaitlyn Solomon, David Miller, Izak Miller; Elizabeth (Duifhuizen) Fontaine, children Bram Duifhuizen, Luna Duifhuizen; Daisy Casey, daughter Gianna Casey.

Curt is also survived by his cousins Blaine Ackley (Fran Beebe), David Ackley, and Debby Ackley.

There will be no immediate service. Later this year, his family will host a potluck dinner to celebrate Curt’s life. The family hopes to have a bench installed near the library in Curt’s memory, and if anyone chooses to help with that project, they can send a donation to Sandra Fontaine at Box 2114, Sitka.

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