Carl Fredrick Caulkins

Wasilla resident, Carl Fredrick Caulkins, 75, died Sunday, June 26, 2011, at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home after a courageous 12-year battle with cancer.

Memorial services for Carl are at 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 5, at Valley Funeral Home Chapel, 151 E. Herning Ave. with Pastor Norm Wagner officiating. A potluck luncheon is at the Caulkins residence following the services.

Carl was born Oct. 20, 1935, in Valentine, Mont., the son of Herbert Henry and Thelma Vivian (Clark) Caulkins.

Carl’s parents were accepted as replacement Colonists in the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Program and the family moved to Palmer in 1936. He graduated from Palmer High School in 1954.

He served in the U.S. Navy for four years as a communications technician and served two of those years in Japan.

His last duty station was on Kodiak Island. After he got out of the service he spent the winters from 1959 to 1961 going to college and working with his dad and oldest brother. He grew up commercial fishing with his family in the Cook Inlet from 1946 to 1964, except for when he was in the service, and worked with his dad each summer. He moved to Anchorage in 1962, where he became a member of the Alaska Air National Guard. He was also a corrections officer at the Palmer Correctional Facility until he retired in 1984.

When he moved to the Mat Su Valley in 1982, Carl worked as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in the Meadow Lakes area for several years. He also worked security in Prudoe Bay from 1987 to 1995. He loved to hunt and fish, and spent several summers set netting and clam digging around Ninilchik. He also built a home and several out buildings during his life, and enjoyed old westerns and country music.

Carl and his wife Betty became snowbirds and enjoyed traveling to the other U.S. states, including Hawaii, as well as visiting Australia and Mexico. He was always surrounded by his family and friends and had the ability to see the best in people. He was honest and fair with everyone, had a sense of humor and was always willing to help. His family said he was loved by everyone who knew him, and he will be greatly missed.

Carl is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Betty; daughter, Karla of Kentucky; brother, James of Washington; and his other sons and daughters, Thala, Marty, Ellen, Vicky, Eddie and Bobbi, all of Alaska. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren and his beloved dog, Peanut.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Thelma (Clark) Caulkins; and his brothers, Richard and Donald Caulkins.

The family wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the members of staff at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home for all their dedicated compassionate and loving care.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

The family was cared for by Valley Funeral Home and Crematory of Wasilla.