JOYCE CAROL (OGDEN) HERRIN

Palmer resident Joyce Herrin, 80, died of cancer Dec. 19, 2005, at the Palmer Pioneers' Home.

She requested no services. Her ashes will be scattered in the mountains of Alaska and Montana.

Mrs. Herrin was born June 27, 1924, in Elgin, Ill., to Gerald and Jessie (Stone) Ogden.

She graduated from Elgin High in 1942 and married Dennis Franklin Herrin, on Nov. 24, 1944, in Washington.

She followed him from coast to coast during World War II and made homes in Rhode Island, Illinois, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Texas, Washington and Arizona, first coming to Alaska in 1967.

She lived in North Kenai and Eagle River, finally building her first home near Palmer in 1978, after her husband promised to "stick it out and retire" from the Alaska Railroad.

Mrs. Herrin was timekeeper, secretary and life member of Aurora and Montana Creek Dog Mushers and served in many capacities for Houston's Mid-Valley Seniors.

She loved big band music and played the organ well. Mrs. Herrin was a drum majorette, band captain and played string bass in a dance band. An avid painter, she loved to paint landscapes of Alaska and states she lived in or traveled through.

Her family wrote, "Joyce was a class act and proper lady. Honesty and virtue were her guides. She displayed wisdom, fortitude and strength. She loved travel, bouncing a trailer, camper or motor home over the Alcan and across the continent. She was happy just for the moment, content for no other reason than to just be."

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Gary Johnson of Washington; son, Patrick, of Washington; son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Sheila (McNamara) of Montana; daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and Richard Young of Arizona; son and daughter-in-law, Rodney and Cathy (Van Valkinburgh) of Wasilla; brother and sister-in-law, Gerald and Jody (Grandle) Ogden of Illinois; brother-in-law and sister, Robert and Gloria (Ogden) Wendt of Illinois; sister, Josephine (Ogden) Lanoue of Texas; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Herrin was preceded in death by her husband, Dennis, in 1998 and her son, Dennis Jr., in 1976.