FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

New RFP Sought For Managing PAC
27 Mar 2024 14:48

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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Seiners Get Second Day with 2 Areas to Fish
27 Mar 2024 14:46

By Sentinel Staff
    The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]

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27 Mar 2024 12:41

By GARLAND KENNEDY
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    After storming into the state 3A boys basketball brac [ ... ]

Tuesday City League Volleyball
27 Mar 2024 12:39

By Sentinel Staff
    The Queen Bees’ spotless season record ended Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss [ ... ]

Kodiak Alutiiq Museum Getting New Attention
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By SHIRLEY SNEVE
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House Hearing on Inmate Deaths Halted
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27 Mar 2024 12:34

By NATHANIEL HERZ
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March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Community Happenings
27 Mar 2024 12:25

Big Rigs Sought
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
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Lady Wolves Rally to Take Fourth at State
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By Sentinel Staff
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House Votes to Broaden Rules For Review Panel Memb...
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By NATHANIEL HERZ
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Faster Internet Speeds In Rural Schools OK'd
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Native Words Gathered In Environment Studies
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By YERETH ROSEN
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March 26, 2024, Police Blotter
26 Mar 2024 13:49

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 25
At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Community Happenings
26 Mar 2024 13:48

Vietnam-Era Vets
Invited to Lunch,
Commemoration
American Legion Post 13 will host a luncheon 1-3 p.m.  [ ... ]

Sac Roe Herring Fishery Opens in Hayward
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The 2024 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery got under [ ... ]

Projects on the Table For Cruise Tax Funds
25 Mar 2024 15:28

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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Braves Take Second at State after Close Loss
25 Mar 2024 15:23

By Sentinel Staff
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25 Mar 2024 15:11

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Cathy Cuenin, Former Sitkan, Passes Away in Washington

Cathy Cuenin

 

Cathy Cuenin, a longtime Alaska resident, passed away peacefully in her home in Suquamish, Washington, on April 21. Her husband Loren, their son, a niece and a good friend were by her side. 

Cathy was born July 13, 1949, in Danville, California.

She came to Sitka with her RN degree and her boat-loving husband in 1975. She began her work as a nurse at the Pioneers Home while living aboard their first home, the tugboat Madrona.

They traveled the waters of Southeast with various tow jobs, visited the villages with her public health work, played music with friends and explored the woods.

Their son AD was born in 1977. Much of his childhood was spent on the back of Cathy’s bike or on board their next home and work boat, the Sitka Spruce.  

In 1988 they moved to Juneau. Cathy’s love for Alaska deepened as she explored the mountain tops, skied the backcountry and made many lifelong friends. Her work as a hospice and school nurse was an expression of the compassion she had for her fellow humans. She was a mentor to many and attentive to all. 

In 1997, Cathy’s lung collapsed and her life changed. She was diagnosed with a rare women’s disease, LAM. She underwent a double lung transplant in 2004 and from there had a multitude of other health issues that go along with lung transplants. 

She appreciated her new lungs for 17 years, after hearing that five years was the expected. She faced her new life with humility, acceptance, curiosity, and love. She was a true inspiration to her family and friends as she not only faced her own issues, but found so many ways to offer help, advice and care to others. Her book, “The Way I Walk, from Tugboat to Transplant,” and her many poems have kept her spirit alive.

Cathy is survived by her parents, Robert and Virginia Cuenin, of Walnut Creek, California; her husband Loren Gerhard, of Suquamish; their son, AD, and his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Clara of Rochester, Minnesota; her siblings, Mary Chambers of Sitka,  and Judd Cuenin, Carol Mertens, Rob Cuenin and their spouses, all of California; and nieces and nephews Lisa and Paul Mertens, Krista Cuenin, Kyle and Taylor Cuenin, all of California, and Lucas and Maya Chambers of Sitka; and many friends who will miss her dearly.

“We all feel that we were blessed with bonus post-transplant years of Cathy’s goodness,” her family said.

In lieu of flowers, Cathy and Loren would appreciate a donation to Second Wind Lung Transplant Association. 

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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