Annabelle R. Chowaniec

Annabelle R. Chowaniec, 81, passed away Nov. 15, 2014, at Sunrise Manor assisted living home.

Annabelle was born Nov. 3, 1933, in Wisconsin, to Gustave and Alethea Scheibl. She came to Alaska with her Colonist parents and siblings at the age of 1 1/2 years old. And here she’s been ever since.

Her early years growing up in the Matanuska Valley was that of any farm girl — herding cows, tending to other farm animals, becoming that Alaskan wild child, and walking to school in the snow and wind.

Though marriage got her off the farm, it was not long before she was back on a farm picking potatoes.

If there had been some kind of world-class recognition for potato picking, Annabelle and her two friends, Sonja and Hazel, would have been in the top 1 percent. There at times were a few fierce seasonal competitions, but in that friendly Alaskan way. Though, those spuds could be hard.

In the later years, Annabelle did some traveling in different parts of the world. One especially good cruise trip was through the Panama Canal. A side trip put her in a raft on a Class IV-and-a-half river. It’s been said that her arrival back at the cruise ship had her soaked to the bone — still that Alaskan wild child.

Annabelle is preceded in death by her parents and husband (Norbert).

She is survived by her children, Norbert Jr., Michael, Margaret, Mark, James, George, and Vincent and their spouses; and her grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

To capture her spirit, here’s a poem penned by Mary Elizabeth Frye,

“Do not stand at my grave and weep.

“I am not there. I do not sleep.

“I am a thousand winds that blow.

“I am the diamond glints on snow.

“I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

“I am the gentle autumn rain.

“When you wake in the morning’s hush

“I am the swift, uplifting rush

“Of quiet birds in circling flight.

“I am the soft starlight at night.

“Do not stand at my grave and weep.

“I am not there. I do not sleep.”

To part, Annabelle is now in the wind.

No services are planned.