CARL ERIC POETZSCH

Wasilla resident Carl Eric Poetzsch died Sept. 28, 2002, at his home. A memorial service will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at 1231 Glenwood Ave. in Wasilla. Ashes will be scattered in places that were special to him.

Mr. Poetzsch was born in Kiowa, Kan., on Jan. 21, 1922, to Erich and Johanna Poetzsch. He grew up in Springtown, Ark. He served in the Army during World War II and received many honors, including three bronze stars. He made his first visit to Alaska after the war, inspired by Gold Rush stories he heard from his father's friends.

In 1958, he moved to Alaska and got a job installing navigation aids at airstrips throughout the Bush. In between all the travel, he worked on his homestead near Goose Bay. In 1964, he talked his father into moving to Alaska at the age of 75 and built him a cabin at their homestead on Papoose Lake.

In 1978, he married Barbara (Miller) Bliss, and

together they developed property in the Wasilla area. He built the home they lived in along Cottonwood Creek.

His family wrote, "Eric was an exceptionally kind and generous person. He had a gentle sense of humor and could always find the good in every person and every situation. He loved to fish, work in his garden and watch the moose from his deck, even when they were chewing up all his vegetables. Eric's passion for Alaska was surpassed only by his love for his wife, who he affectionately called, 'Barbie,' his grandchildren and his relatives in the Lower 48. He also loved his dogs."

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, of Wasilla; his sister Ruthe Atkinson of Rogersville, Mo.; his stepdaughter Laura Spaan and her husband, Michael, and children, Kayla and Tyler, all of Anchorage; his nephews and their families, Bill, Jim and Steve Atkinson of Springfield, Mo.; and Greg Grorud of Tucson, Ariz.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Mat-Su, 3051 E. Palmer-Wasilla Hwy., Wasilla, AK 99654.