A.C. Buswell

A.C. “Skip” Buswell, 81, passed away March 4, 2008 at his home in Wasilla.

A viewing will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 8, with the service to follow at the Alaska Heritage Memorial Chapel, 1015 S. Check St., in Wasilla.

Buswell was born March 2, 1927 in Akron, Iowa. He grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, where he graduated from Central High School. He was a World War II veteran serving in the Army from 1945 to 1947 and was stationed on Adak Island and Ft. Richardson. It was while he was in the military in Alaska that he met Mollie Klem, and they were married in Palmer in December 1947. The newlyweds moved to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1948, where they lived for 13 years. They returned to Alaska in 1961, and they lived in Chugiak (Birchwood) until 1989. He worked as a civilian on Ft. Richardson until his retirement in 1979. He was also a naval architect and worked for the Port of Anchorage. He and his wife left Alaska in 1989 and moved to Buckley, Wash., and later on to Avondale, Ariz. He returned to Alaska in 2005 where he made his home in Wasilla.

Buswell was a 32nd degree Mason. He collected guns, and loved hunting and gold prospecting.

His family wrote: “Skip was a loving father, grandfather and husband. He will be greatly missed.”

Buswell was preceded in death by his son Robert Braden Buswell in 1966; his wife, Mollie, in 2003; and grandson Cliff Jr. in 2004.

He is survived by his daughter April Zelenka of Goodyear, Ariz.; son AC (Buzz) Buswell III of Wasilla; his brother; 10 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

Arrangements are with Alaska Heritage Memorial Chapel.