A celebration of the life of Mary Louise Reed Eubank, an Alaskan since 1962, will be held 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, May 23, at the Pioneers Home chapel.
Friends and family are invited to take a dish and memories to share.
Mary Louise Reed Eubank
Mary died May 14 in Sitka. She was 91.
She was born March 6, 1925, in Mooris, Kansas, the daughter of Virgil Gladys Groome and Percy Hillmon Reed. Her mother was a nurse and her father a Texan fisherman – he owned the shrimp boat F/V Texas No. 5.
Mary graduated at age 16 from Brandon High School, in Florida, in 1941. She graduated from Texas State College for Women in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in interior design and art.
In 1968 she received her master’s in art from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her thesis was on carving Alaska soap stone. She was a talented artist in most media, but she liked sculpture the best.
Along with her work as an artist, she was a librarian.
Mary Louise Reed married John Jerome Eubank Jr. on Dec. 27, 1950, in Dallas, Texas. After coming to Alaska in 1962, she homesteaded five acres outside of Fairbanks.
Mary discovered her natural talent for genealogy at an early age, and her records – consisting of more than 5,000 individuals and a multitude of photos – will be helpful to the next family genealogist.
She was a lifetime member of Daughters of the American Revolution and Pioneers of Alaska.
Immediate survivors include her sister, Alice Haley of New Mexico; children Roby Littlefield of Sitka; Greg Eubank, Anchorage; and Celeste (Greg) Goering, of Fairbanks.
Her grandchildren are Victor Littlefield, Dan Littlefield and Kassy Eubank Littlefield of Sitka; Ed Littlefield, Seattle; Stephan Eubank and Robert Eubank of Fairbanks; and Alex Beans, Mountain Village.
Great-grandchildren are Brenon Littlefield, Juneau; Hunter Littlefield and Jet John Littlefield, Sitka; and Svea Beans, Mountain Village.
Mary was preceded in death by her brother, William Walter Reed II; her husband, John Jerome Eubank Jr.; son, John David Eubank; grandson, John Joe Eubank; and son-in-law John Littlefield.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Pioneers Home Auxiliary, 120 Katlian St. Sitka, AK 99835.
