Kvalheim memorial is Feb. 23 at fairgrounds

PALMER — Memorial service plans have been finalized for longtime Valley community leader and volunteer Mary Kvalheim.

Services for Kvalheim, who died Jan. 31, 2013, following open-heart surgery, are from noon to 3 p.m., Feb. 23 at Raven Hall on the Alaska State Fairgrounds. Light refreshments will be served. Her friends are invited to bring a dish to share if they wish.

Born Jan. 4, 1945, in Marshall, Minn., to Harold and Peggy Simmons, she moved with her husband Ray Kvalheim from Coos Bay, Ore., to Kodiak in 1965. Their children, Ingrid and Erik, were born during this time.

In 1969, the Kvalheims moved to Beverly Lake Road outside Wasilla. A decade later, Mary Kvalheim began working in the Mat-Su Legislative Information Office. She retired from the LIO in 1999.

She served three terms on the Mat-Su Borough Board of Ethics between 1989 and 2011. She was appointed to the Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission, serving from January 2000 until her election to the Mat-Su Borough Assembly in 2002, where she served until 2008.

Her personal and community interests included Toastmasters, serving on the boards of Valley for Community Recycling Solutions and Mat-Su Services for Children and Adults. She also was active on many committees important to schools, community planning, emergency services, homelessness and libraries. She was a member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo 11 and a lifelong member of the Democratic Party.

Kvalheim had recently retired from working as an aide to U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and told friends she was looking forward to volunteering at the Mat-Su Borough’s Animal Care and Regulation Shelter, and in support of MyHouse, a nonprofit working to end teen homelessness.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to MyHouse in her name. Donations can be made online at myhousematsu.org or mailed to P.O. Box 870536, Wasilla, AK 99654. She would also be greatly honored by the donation of blankets, toys and other comforts for her much loved animals at the Mat-Su Borough’s animal shelter.