Sylvia C. Ross

Sylvia Ross, 89, died April 19 at Mat-Su Regional Medical Çenter surrounded by her loving family and with her husband at her side.

A service was held April 24 at Evergreen Memorial Chapel in Anchorage with the Rev. Robert Lee officiating. Interment will be at Angelus Memorial Park.

Sylvia was born Oct. 29, 1919, in Foots Creek, Ore., to James and Vernie Childers. The Childerses moved to the Matanuska Valley in 1934 and filed on a160-acre homestead on what is now Maud Road.

Sylvia married Vernon Ross on July 23, 1937. Six weeks later the couple moved to a remote trapline on Alexander Creek, near Mount Susitna. They lived there year-round for the next eight years, during which time their four children were born.

In 1945, Vernon and Sylvia began commercial fishing at Moose Point on the Kenai Peninsula. As well as setnet fishing, for several years they put in a fish trap until traps were outlawed. Sylvia was the first non-Native woman in Cook Inlet to hold a fishing permit of her own. She and Vernon were original members of the Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Union, which was founded to enable the fisherman to bargain with the canneries for better salmon prices.

From 1955 until 1972 they both worked for the Anchorage School System. At first they worked the night shift as janitors, then Vernon became day man at Romig Jr. High and Sylvia worked in food services at several grade schools. During these years Vernon also worked during hunting season as a big-game guide for Ward Gay and Bud Branham, while Sylvia worked at the hunting camp as cook.

In 1972, they retired from the school district and moved to Barbara Point near Seldovia, where they continued to fish commercially. Sylvia continued in this occupation until she was in her early 70s, while Vernon did not retire until he was 90.

The couple moved to the big island of Hawaii in 1988 but continued to spend their summers in Seldovia. In Hawaii, they were active in the local senior center and in the Episcopal Church. In 2002, due to Sylvia’s declining health, she and Vernon returned to the Houston-Big Lake area.

Sylvia loved the outdoor life she lived — fishing, hunting and trapping — and was the first woman in Alaska to hold an assistant guide’s license. She was also an excellent cook and enjoyed entertaining guests, playing cards, bird watching and spending time with her family.

Sylvia was preceded in death by one great-grandchild. She is survived by Vernon, her husband of almost 72 years; her daughter Janette (Wallace) Riehle of Palmer; her daughter Anna Philo of Houston; her son Jim (Lois) Ross of Manheim, Penn.; her son Mark (Annie) Ross of Homer; 18 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren.

Her family said, “She was the rock of our family. She worked hard at a difficult, man’s profession without ever losing her ability to be a gracious lady. There are very few like her and she will be greatly missed by her large family and by all who knew her.”