Larry H. Selle

Larry Harold Selle, 62, died at his Palmer home Dec. 8, 2007.

Funeral services will be 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 14 at the United Protestant Presbyterian Church, 713 S. Denali St. in Palmer. Interment will follow at Ft. Richardson National Cemetery. Pastor Tim Carrick will officiate.

Selle was born Jan. 23, 1935 in Sandpoint, Idaho. He earned his bachelor’s degree in education at Montana State University in Bozeman after his enlistment in the US Navy, where he was stationed in Hawaii and Japan while doing radiation testing on Pacific Islands.

He came to Alaska in 1980, living in Wainwright, Pt. Hope, St. Michael, Teller, Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, and finally Palmer. During his working career he was an industrial arts teacher from 1980 to 1995 in St. Michael, Pt. Hope, Wainwright, Teller and Savoonga. He also worked for the Mat-Su School System as a substitute teacher in 1994 and at the Palmer Correctional Center from 1992 to 1995 when he retired as a teacher of building maintenance and wastewater management and surveying.

Selle was a member of the Palmer Elks Lodge, a board member of the Palmer Senior Center, and a deacon in the Palmer United Protestant Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed woodworking, gardening, traveling, fishing and hunting.

“Larry was a most generous person and had a ‘soft touch’ for anyone asking for assistance either with labor or financially,” his family wrote. “Most of his spare time was spent remodeling his church and upgrading the Palmer Senior Center. He was an excellent gardener and annually won prizes at the Alaska State fair.”

He is survived by his wife, Maryann, of Palmer; daughter Adrienne Boardman, granddaughter Dakota Boardman and grandson Garson Roseman, all of Wasilla. He was predeceased by his parents Belva and Harold Selle of Sandpoint, Idaho. The family suggests memorial donations to the Palmer Senior Center.