DONALD L. LA ROSE

Palmer resident Mr. Donald Larrian La Rose, 75, died at home of lung cancer Nov. 26, 2003, with his wife and daughter by his side.

A memorial service will be held at the Gospel Outreach Church today at 1 p.m., with Pastor Mike Curtis officiating. Inurnment will be at 11 a.m. at Ft. Richardson National Cemetery.

Mr. La Rose was born April 10, 1928, in Phillips, Wisc.

He went to school through the 8th grade and "was self-taught in everything," his family said.

He moved to Alaska in 1935. He lived in Palmer and Anchorage. He was one of the Wisconsin colonists who settled the Matanuska Valley.

Mr. La Rose worked as a dishwasher from 1942 to 1945. He co-owned a gas station in Palmer from 1946 to 1947. From 1947 to 1949 he was in the Navy stationed in San Diego, Calif., on the U.S.S. Besboro and the U.S.S. Boxer. He did aerial mapping in Kodiak and Nome. He also worked on the Alaska Railroad as a section foreman from Fairbanks to Seward from 1951 to 1979. In 1964, he was the foreman requested to repair the Portage, Potters Section House and Turnagain Arm sections of the Alaska Railroad.

In the 1940s he filed for 88 acres of homestead property in the Clark-Wolverine area. He built a cabin by April Creek, 12 miles out of Palmer.

Mr. La Rose was recipient of the World War II Victory Medal, the Philippines Independence Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal.

His interests included photography, music, fishing, swimming, playing the harmonica, accordion and Casio and pitching horseshoes.

His family said, "His determination was a remarkable trait. He took apart electronics, computers, and radios and repaired them. He took pride in everything he did. He was a very active person. He kept busy all the time. Everything he owns was kept in excellent condition."

Mr. La Rose was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Clystia La Rose.

He is survived by his wife Florence La Rose; daughter Norma Jean Wilson; brothers and sisters-in-law Gary and Rosemary La Rose of Palmer, Floyd and Marjorie La Rose of Anchorage; sister Virginia Maleski of Wrangell; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles in Wisconsin, Montana, Minnesota, California and Alaska.

Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.