LOIS M. LABA

Wasilla resident Mrs. Lois M. Laba, 79, died peacefully at home June 6, 2004, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

There was a graveside service at Fort Richardson National Cemetery June 9 at 11 a.m. Fr. Wes Izer, the priest of St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, officiated.

Mrs. Laba was born Aug. 30, 1924, in Dallas, Texas.

She and her husband, Joe, came to Alaska on vacation from California and never went back. They moved to Alaska in 1954 residing in Anchorage. In 1991 she made her home in Wasilla.

Mrs. Laba started a family automotive parts business in 1958. She was the first female counter person in the state of Alaska.

During World War II she was a "Rosie the Riveter" in a tank plant in California.

Mrs. Laba was a member of St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church in Anchorage.

Her hobbies included knitting, reading, stock market trading and family gatherings.

Her family wrote, "She was a generous woman who was more concerned with others than herself. She always opened her heart and home to anyone who needed it."

Her husband, Joseph Laba, preceded Mrs. Laba in death.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Amy Laba, of Anchorage; daughter and son-in-law, Susan and James Schneider, of Wasilla; son and companion, David Laba and Theresa Castro, of Wasilla; brother and sister-in-law, Chuck and Dodie Collins, of California; numerous nieces and nephews; and her faithful companion of 14 years, her pit bull, Boomer.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mat-Su, 3051 E. Palmer-Wasilla Highway, Wasilla, AK 99654.

Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.