Longtime Sitka resident Alice Ann (Harrigan) Strain, 79, passed away in her sleep from natural causes at home on Oct. 16.
A memorial service is planned 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Harrigan Centennial Hall, immediately followed by a celebration of life at the Sitka Elks Lodge.
Burial will be 10 a.m. on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, at the National Cemetery with full Naval honors.
Ann was born July 5, 1934, in Hazleton, Pa., to Alice (Brown) and James Harrigan. When she was 15, in 1949, the family arrived in Sitka on a steamer ship. Her parents had accepted jobs at Mt. Edgecumbe High School where her father taught history and her mother English. The family lived on Alice Island.
Jim Harrigan went on to be superintendent of the Sitka Pioneers Home and director of the Pioneers Homes of Alaska. Alice Harrigan started, and was the first director, of the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Harrigan Centennial Hall is named for Ann’s mother.
Ann graduated from Sitka High School in 1952 and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy. She was stationed in San Diego where she was a decoder of secret documents. She met Charles Stedman there and later moved back to Sitka to wait for him to return. They were married and moved to Juneau where Charles was employed at Coastal Ellis Airlines. Shortly afterward they moved to Sitka. They had five children: Pat, Cindy, Mike, Pam and Kelly.
Ann married Sherman Strain, an iron worker, on Dec. 23, 1978.
Ann was a travel agent for Totem Travel, Alaska Airlines and Sheldon Jackson College for years; worked for the City and Borough of Sitka; was director of the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau; and ran five departments at Sheldon Jackson before her retirement. She was highly regarded by her co-workers, and the Sheldon Jackson Volunteers In Mission.
She loved boating and fishing with her family and friends on the weekends; spending time with her grandchildren; breakfast cooked on the beach; working in her yard planting and organizing for hours on end; her koi ponds; and walking her dog, Kuma.
She followed in her mother’s footsteps and was civic- and politically minded. She listened to Assembly meetings on TV and frequently called members to comment. She was a strong supporter of the Democratic National Committee, of which her mother was a committeewoman for Alaska for 12 years.
She was a lifelong Catholic and a parishioner of St. Gregory’s Catholic Church.
Her mother had helped launch the Alaska Day Festival in 1949, and Ann still supported the committee and their activities over the years.
Ann served on the ALPS Federal Credit Union board, was a member of the Sitka Emblem Club, was a proud veteran, and organized the recent Sitka High School class reunion. She was an active member of the Pioneers of Alaska Women's Igloo 12, joining in 1980.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Alice and James Harrigan, and sister, Patricia Gallien.
Survivors include: her husband, Sherman Strain of Sitka; a brother, James Harrigan of Sitka; and five children and their families: daughter Patricia Stedman, her son Kelly Shane Haag and his daughters Kelly, Allison and son Leo Haag, all of Anchorage, and her daughter Angela Castro (Joe), and sons Jesse James Pitcher and Zackary Max Castro, all of Sitka; daughter Cindy Stedman, her son Jeremy Harpe and her daughter Brittany Harpe and Brittany’s son Kyler Harpe and daughter Kiana Harpe, all of Reno, Nev.; son Mike (Lori) Stedman, their son Jakob (Rachel) Stedman and their daughter Mara, and son Matt Stedman, all formerly of Sitka now residing in Juneau; daughter Pam (Michael) Murray of Kodiak, their daughter Sara (Rob) McSheehy of Anchorage and daughter Michelle Laudert and her son Landen Pasion, of Parker, Colo.; and daughter Kelly (Mark) Conway, formerly of Sitka now residing in Bellevue, Wash., and their children Dawson Conway and Denali Conway of Bellevue.
A stepson, Brett Strain (Amy Markley) and daughter, Amber Markley, and many friends also survive.
She will be greatly missed by her family and loved ones. Family members are very thankful for all of the condolences and prayers that have been received from the many family friends and said that the time they were able to spend with her was precious and invaluable.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alaska Day Festival Committee, P.O. Box 1355, Sitka.
