Jerry Daniels Sr.

Jerry Daniels Sr., 72, of Wasilla died at his home Dec. 16, 2011, after a brief battle with brain cancer.

Jerry was born Feb. 13, 1939, and raised in Gentry, Ark.

His early years took him to the harvest fields of Colorado, the copper mines of Arizona, military service in Texas, and finally to his true calling - highway construction in Alaska in 1967, where he worked summers on most of the roads in Southcentral Alaska, from the Kenai Peninsula to Tok.

His Alaska winters were spent bringing vehicles home in boxes from local wrecking yards and reassembling them; in the cold winter months, he was also Jerry of "Jerry's Thawing."

He was one of five children born to the late Don L. Daniels and the surviving Mildred Shockey. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Lou Daniels, and survived by his brothers, Danny Daniels (Betty) and Bill Daniels (Renee); sister, Lisa Lawrence; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jerry will be forever remembered by his wife, Harriet; his son and daughter-in-law, JD and Susan Daniels; his adoring grandchildren, Corrine, Erica and Jenna; and his daughter and son-in-law, Josette and Jason Bean.

His first Alaska friends will have good memories of snowmachining and potluck dinners, and his John Lake buddies will most surely miss his "good enough for who it's for" construction technique and his famous campfire beans.

There will be no service; however, a potluck was Dec. 18 in celebration of Jerry's free-spirited and adventurous life. There will be a scattering of his cremains at his John Lake cabin in the summer. Donations may be sent to Mat-Su Regional Home Health and Hospice, 950 E. Bogard Road, Suite 132, Wasilla, AK 99654.