JULIE ANNE MENEREY

Julie Anne Menerey, 16, passed away Dec. 26, 2001, as the result of injuries sustained in a Dec. 14 car accident in Wasilla.

Julie was born March 22, 1985, in Midland, Mich., where she lived until the age of 5, when her family moved to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. She attended Big Lake Elementary, Iditarod Elementary, Cottonwood Creek Elementary and Wasilla Middle School. She was a junior at Wasilla High School at the time of the accident, and was enrolled in the Construction Trades Program and in her third year of auto mechanics.

At the age of 7, Julie was named fourth runner-up in the Miss Alaska Preteen Petite Pageant. She was a Girl Scout for four years in the Mat-Su, danced with the Borealis Dancers for five years and was a member of Sunshine Generation.

Her family said, "Julie was the most beautiful, strong-willed, adorable daughter a parent could ever wish for. Her life here was brief but well lived and she touched the hearts of many. She was a precocious, free-spirited, brazen, stubborn, giving and loving young woman. She loved to dance and to sing loudly and unashamed. She was not afraid to be herself and held a deep understanding of freedom of expression and prided herself on individualism. She was often angered by prejudices in the world and strongly believed in looking beyond outward appearances and into the souls of others. She will be missed beyond words by all whose lives were touched by hers."

Julie is survived by her parents, Amy J. Menerey of Wasilla and John T. Menerey II of Jacksonville, Ark.; her brothers, Jason Lee Menerey and Jeremy Bruce Menerey of Wasilla; aunt Laurie (and John) Bumgarner of Anchorage; uncles Kevin Gochanour of Wasilla and Randall Gochanour of Anchorage, and Mark Menerey of Lynwood, Mich.; grandparents Donna Gochanour of Newcastle, Wyo., Boyd (and Jeanis) Gochanour of Big Lake, and Karen and John Menerey Sr. of Cabot, Ark.; cousin Wendy Ratliff of Girdwood; great-grandmothers Esther Gochanour of Noonan, N.D., and Lillian Albee of Midland, Mich.; great-grandfather Theodore Menerey of North Carolina; and many other relatives in Michigan, Wyoming, Colorado and Washington.

Her beloved family friend Tom Kinnison preceded her in death.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, at Wasilla Assembly of God, 125 W. Glenwood Ave. off Knik-Goose Bay Road with Chaplain Bert McQueen officiating. There will be a private visitation prior to the service, with a reception and open visitation following. Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the family at Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union, account No. 62895.