Henrietta Nugen

Henrietta Nugen, 82, passed away July 19, 2015, at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home in Palmer, with her husband Leonard at her side, after a lengthy illness.

Henrietta was born Aug. 26, 1932, in Albany, Oregon. She married Donald Hart after high school, they had two children before the marriage ended in divorce. She married Leonard Nugen in 1964, residing in Salem, Oregon, until moving to Anchorage in 1966.

The early ’70s Henrietta joined her husband Leonard managing the Studio Club in Anchorage. The Studio Club was the first half-way house for recovering alcoholics. As recovering alcoholics themselves, they recognized the need for safe, sober housing. Even before moving to Alaska, their home was always open to people needing a safe, sober family home to recover from alcohol. Working with recovering alcoholics was natural for Henrietta.

When the Studio Club lost the building, Henrietta and Leonard approached the Board of Directors of the Studio Club concerning the need for a long-term residential treatment program for alcoholics. The board agreed and property was purchased in the Mat-Su Valley, buildings renovated and Nugen’s Ranch was developed. Henrietta was a visionary in the field of substance abuse residential treatment. Nugen’s Ranch opened on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway in 1981. Henrietta served as the Executive Director of Nugen’s Ranch from 1981 to her retirement in 1994.

Henrietta was involved in many local and state boards, she served on the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse from 1994 to 2000, as a member of the Mat-Su Senior Advisory Board, served on the board of directors of United Way of the Mat-Su, served on the local health commission, and was involved with several local community organizations. She was a lifelong Democrat, and strong advocate for causes that were dear to her heart. She was a formable advocate for chronic alcoholics, and instrumental in Nugen’s Ranch involvement in the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, including Chronic Alcoholics as beneficiary of the trust.

Henrietta is survived by her husband, Leonard Nugen; son and daughter-in law, James and Dawn Nugen; daughter and son-in law, Karen Nugen-Logan and Fordyce Logan; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life is at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 13 at the Palmer Pioneers home.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorial donations be made to Nugen’s Ranch, P.O. Box 871545, Wasilla, AK 99687.

Arrangements were cared for by Valley Funeral Home, Wasilla Chapel.