Mavis Line

Mavis Line

December 8, 1921 — August 1, 2021

Longtime Alaska resident, Mavis Line, passed in her sleep after a long adventurous and good life. Mavis was born and raised on a farm near Morristown, South Dakota. She met the love of her life, Ernie Line, in Sioux Falls where he trained as an airman for WWII, and followed him to Wasilla, Alaska in 1946 when he accepted a job teaching at the Wasilla School. She and Ernie raised six children in Alaska, moving to Eielson AFB and later Fairbanks, when Ernie’s educator career took them there. When Ernie retired, he and Mavis moved back to Wasilla.

Mavis famously said she arrived in Wasilla in the dead of winter wearing her best dress, nylons, and open-toe high heel shoes. She quickly adapted her wardrobe to Alaska’s harsh environment, cracked ice in the cabin sink basin in the morning, and learned to prepare game and fish harvested by Ernie. She was a loving mother and accomplished cook and baker, feeding family, friends, and invited contract teachers at the schools with delicious meals. Her homemade bread and cookie recipes are still favorites of children and grandchildren. While Ernie was the primary hunter, Mavis became a huntress when they returned to Wasilla after retiring. She joined combat fishers at Willow Creek where she landed many a king salmon to the calls of “fish on” by fellow anglers. She was a proud active member of the Matanuska Alaska Pioneers. In 2012, Mavis moved to the “lower 48” to be near family members, regretfully leaving behind many life-long friends and her lovingly tended flower gardens.

Mavis is preceded in death by her husband, Ernie; brothers, Lyle and Arnold Menzel’ granddaughter Hilary Walstrom; and her parents. She is survived by her six children, Mary Leibenguth, Amy Walstrom, Margaret Line, Lisa Meiners, Paula Williams, and Charles Line; and by ten grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Her family will be arranging a celebration of Mavis’ life in Wasilla, Alaska sometime in 2022. Please consider donating to the local PBS channel in her name.