Memorial services for Barbara Pamela (Craig) Chittenden, who had deep roots in Sitka, will be Friday, June 13, at Sitka National Cemetery.
Her ashes, along with those of her husband Gene, will be interred at 12:15 p.m., with a reception to follow at 1 p.m. at the Swan Lake Senior Center.
Barbara died March 5, 2025, in Edmonds, Washington. She was born Feb. 27, 1949, in Sitka, the daughter of Gene Craig Sr., from Garden City, Missouri, and Frances (Daniels) Craig of Sitka. She was the granddaughter of Charlie Daniels Sr., and Mary Elizabeth Walton; and the great-granddaughter of silver carver Rudolph Walton and his wife, Daisy (Jackson). Her paternal grandparents were William Porter Craig and his wife Helen ("Nellie").
Barbara was a proud Kaagwaagtaan woman of the Eagle Moiety, from the Multiplying Wolf House of Sitka. Her Lingit name, given to her by Herman Kitka Sr., translated to "mother of little eagles."
Barbara attended Sheldon Jackson High School and Sitka High, graduating in 1969, and then received an accounting certificate from Sheldon Jackson Junior College. Along with being an accountant she was a bank teller, and a homemaker.
A good friend, Kay Gouyton, described Barbara as "a strong, independent woman who set goals and worked to accomplish them all her life. She always took care of her family."
In 1974, Barabara moved to Juneau. There, she was a volunteer docent of the Alaska State Museum in the 1980s and 90s, joined by her daughter Helen.
When the new Smithsonian Museum was set up, she inspected the Alaska Native exhibit and gave invaluable insight about the display, resulting in a much more accurate depiction of Alaska Native culture and history. Kay said Barbara was "an unbelievable informational conduit on the creation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act."
She was a member of Sealaska Corporation, Shee Atika Corporation, Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and Sitka Tribe of Alaska.
She enjoyed sewing, knitting, crocheting and books. She was interested in Alaska Native culture and history, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, history, British TV and movies, and murder mysteries.
Barbara married Eugene (Gene) F. Chittendenton Jan. 29, 1983, in Juneau. In 2010 they left Juneau for Colorado. Gene died Sept. 20, 2014, in Pueblo, Colo.
Survivors include her daughters, Laura Sue Dangel (husband Tim Adamson), of Edmonds, and Helen Dianne Dangel (husband Simon Hook) of Sitka; grandsons Keet Lorrigan and Janwu Lorrigan of Sitka and Fairbanks; brother William (Bill) Craig (wife Helen) of Sitka; and nephew Jeremiah Craig of Sitka and niece Jennifer Craig of Washington state, and her children.
Also surviving are her brother, Gene (Dan) Craig Jr. of Port Angeles, Washington, and niece Pam Craig and grandnephew Kee, nephew Jon Craig of Seattle and Theo Craig (wife Sarah) and grandniece Daisy of Portland, Ore.
Numerous cousins, including Harvey Kitka, Jo Patterson, Betty Goldsbury, Midge Layton and Irene Vaden, Herman Kitka Jr., and Velma Todd, also survive.
