MERLE T. WISECARVER

Merle T. Wisecarver, 82, a longtime resident of Big Lake, passed away at Providence Hospital in Anchorage on Nov. 16, 2003, as the result of heart and kidney problems.

A funeral service was held Nov. 22 at Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla. He will be buried at Fort Richardson National Cemetery in the spring.

Mr. Wisecarver was born in Dunsmuir, Calif., on Oct. 5, 1921, to Meryl K. and Lucille Talmadge Wisecarver. He attended high school at Anderson Union High School in Shasta County where he met and eventually married Leah Jean Miller, the daughter of Morris and Frankie Miller.

Following Pearl Harbor, he and his father both joined the U.S. Navy where his brother Frank was already serving. Mr. Wisecarver was severely injured while serving on an anti-aircraft gun against an attacking Japanese aircraft. His munitions ship, the "Mercury," was struck by a torpedo, which fortunately failed to explode. All three Wisecarvers returned home at the end of the war to their loving families.

In Alaska, he worked for the Air Force, Corps of Engineers, and Public Health Service. During such major natural disasters as the Alaska earthquake, the Barrow flood, the Kenai burn and the Fairbanks flood, his expertise in purchasing and procurement greatly sped recovery efforts and reduced the pain and suffering of many Alaskans.

Mr. Wisecarver is survived by his son and spouse, Richard and Margaret Wisecarver of Wasilla; his daughter and her spouse, Jeanne and Dennie Thompson of Sonora, Calif.; 14 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren of Alaska, California, and New Mexico; and two first cousins in California.

Mr. Wisecarver was preceded in death by his wife Leah Jean, his parents, his brother Frank, and sister Mary Anstead.

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