Pauline Fern Bergdoll passed away at age 93 on August 30, 2015, at SEARHC-Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital surrounded by family.
Services will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, at Sitka Lutheran Church. A reception will be held at the church following graveside services.
Pauline was born on February 9, 1922, in Townsend, Montana, to John and Mildred (Edminster) Doggett. When she was 11, she moved to Sitka with her mother, stepfather, and sister. When in 1933 they stepped off of the steamship “North Sea,” they saw nothing but snow and cold weather. The population of Sitka was approximately 900 people at that time.
As a youngster, Pauline’s favorite activities included playing games such as hopscotch, hide and seek, kick the can, and anything else that involved being outdoors. She loved being a Girl Scout, and often reminisced about the camping trips they took to the old Girl Scout site in Nakwasina.
In her teen years, she would wake up early in the mornings to make bread dough. Her mother would then put it in the oven for her, and she would take it to school to sell to her teachers. In high school she was a star basketball player. She was one of 11 students graduating from Sitka High School in 1940.
On August 10, 1940, she married Frank Bergdoll, and they had three children. The family spent much time in the outdoors commercial and sport fishing, hunting, picnicking and boating. In the mid 1950s the family homesteaded their current property on Halibut Point Road and built their dream home. After Frank’s passing in 1973, Pauline spent another wonderful 15 years with companion Jim Dwyer.
Pauline spent her early adult years at home being a homemaker. She also volunteered many years as a Girl Scout leader and was a member of the Sitka Public Schools Parent-Teacher Association. In 1963 she began working for the City and Borough of Sitka as personnel director and an accounts payable clerk and retired in 1983.
She was a member of the Pioneers of Alaska and a lifetime member of the Women of the Moose.
Her greatest joy in life was spending time with her family, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and her dogs Koko and Pepper. She enjoyed gardening, picking berries, harvesting wild game and seafood, and just being outdoors.
She was a wonderful person who will always be remembered for her caring, kindness, compassion, unselfishness, and putting other people first. She will be greatly missed by many.
She was preceded in death by her husband Frank Bergdoll, companion James Dwyer, daughter Phyllis Kluting, son-in-law Robert Kluting, granddaughter Barbara Bergdoll, parents, and brother.
She is survived by her sister Doris Scheuffele of Santa Maria, Calif.; son Barry Bergdoll of Juneau; daughter Linda (Art) Bergdoll-Schmidt of Sitka; grandchildren Don Kluting, Sherry (Jay) Clifton and Brian (Jeren) Schmidt, all of Sitka, and Jenny (Quentin) DeWitt of Meridian, Idaho, and Brenda (Justin) Dewey, of North Carolina.
Great-grandchildren are Trevor and Logan Kluting, Thomas and Grace Clifton and Bella, Novah and Lukas Schmidt, all of Sitka, and Emma and Meena Dewey, of North Carolina.
Pallbearers will be Gio Villanueva, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Jones and grandsons Jay Clifton, Don Kluting, and Brian Schmidt.
