On May 21, 2026, Christine Daisy Littlefield passed away on the day of the Orthodox Feast of Ascension.
Christine was a loving and generous mother, daughter, auntie, sister, and wife.
Born on December 5, 1931, to Agnes Dubke and Bernhardt Albert Dubke in Wrangell, Alaska, she joined sisters Alice Lenhert and Anna Gunderson and brother Charlie Olson.
While living in Wrangell, she attended the Wrangell Institute before transferring to Mt. Edgecumbe High School for her senior year, and was in the school's first graduating class in 1948 with the other 47 classmates, proudly noting they were the “48 of ’48.”
Christine, always a caretaker in her life, was first in nursing in the children's orthopedic ward, and not long after worked at MEHS as a “matron” – and later as a contractor with business partner Alice Cooper – providing care to the students attending the school.
She worked at MEHS when it was a boarding school under the Bureau of Indian Affairs until it closed and then worked at the Chemawa American Indian Boarding School until the State of Alaska reopened Edgecumbe as a state boarding school. She worked for more than four decades at the school, tending to several generations of students, calling on her own experiences to be able to provide stability, comfort, and structure to hundreds of students from around the state.
She was recently honored for her work by dozens and dozens of students from throughout Alaska, who sent a deluge of birthday cards, honoring and congratulating her. She cherished the outpouring and the recounted memories, acknowledging each with a thank you card.
Throughout the years Christine volunteered, most notably at the Dog Point Fish Camp and Brave Heart Volunteers. She was devoted to the Orthodox Church and volunteered for years greeting visitors to St. Michael's Cathedral. She thoroughly enjoyed talking with tourists from around the world, and always rewarded returning visitors with St. Michael pins that she purchased herself.
She was an enrolled Tribal Citizen of Sitka Tribe of Alaska, where she was honored as Tribal Citizen of the Year, was an enrolled Tribal Citizen of the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida), and was a member of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) Sitka Camp #1.
Among what people will remember Christine for is her dedication to family, her faith, the MEHS fellow workers and students – and simply walking. She is remembered by a great many drivers as Sitka’s Walking Queen!
The family notes “Mom gently loved all her family, the Orthodox Church, living in Sitka, walking in town (and even in other communities), berry picking, watching waves come in, Dog Point Fish Camp, shopping, and Mt. Edgecumbe High School – all the students and co-workers.”
Christine was preceded in death by her mom, dad, siblings, first husband, Andrew John Hope Jr. (John), second husband, Gregory Littlefield Sr., son Andrew John Hope III (Andy), grandson Andrew Percy Hope IV, and son-in-law George Erickson.
She is survived by daughter KathyHope Erickson, sons Gerald (Gerry) Hope and his wife Vicki D’Amico, and Greg Littlefield Jr. and his wife Ellen, along with numerous nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers for Christine are Rowan Hayes, Solomon Davis, Mitchell Young, Christopher Hope, Yakov Payenna, and Robert Miller.
The funeral will be held at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church 3 p.m. Thursday, May 28, 2026, followed by a graveside service and a reception in Harrigan Centennial Hall.
