Sydney Jane Brannin-Dodge

Longtime Alaskan Sydney Jane Brannin-Dodge, 88, died March 11, 2011, from natural causes at the Colony Manor Assisted Living Home in Wasilla.

Memorial services will be held at noon, March 18, at Faith Bible Fellowship, 14159 West Hollywood Road in Big Lake. Pastors Ethan Hansen and Marty Moffat will officiate. A celebration of Sydney’s life will follow at 2:30 p.m. at Palmer Elk’s Lodge 1842, 2600 N. Barry’s Resort Road in Palmer. Her ashes will be laid to rest with her mother at the Mountain View Cemetery in Big Timber, Mont.

Sydney was born July 27, 1922, to Sidney Arthur and Iva Kathryn (Melvin) Brannin in Bozeman, Mont. Her family moved to Juneau in 1935, where she graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School in 1940. After graduating she moved to Anchorage until 1942, when she moved to Seattle. Sydney moved to Salinas, Calif., for a year and then to Long Island, N.Y.

In 1952, she returned to Alaska, residing in Anchorage and working as secretary to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, Justice James Martin Fitzgerald from 1957 to 1986. She retired and in 1987 moved to Houston, then back to Anchorage in 2000.

To be closer to extended family, Sydney moved to Sequim in 2006, returning to Anchorage in 2007 and finally to Wasilla, where she resided since 2009. Sydney was a member of Faith Bible Fellowship, Pioneers of Alaska Auxiliary 11, Mid-Valley & Palmer Senior Citizens, and Paws and Taws Square Dancing. She was a foster grandparent for 20-plus years and coached cheerleading for Houston Junior High. Sydney enjoyed square dancing and round dancing, cross-country skiing, family genealogy, cooking, travelling, RVing, writing, reading and shorthand.

“When people think of Sydney words like ‘feisty,’ ‘classy,’ ‘witty,’ ‘dedicated,’ ‘committed’ and ‘loyal’ come to mind,” her family wrote. “The person she loved the most in this world was her husband and love of her life, Dell Dodge. Her depth of affection and commitment to feelings of love for Dell, even after his death, was unparalleled. Sydney also showed dedication in her career as a judge’s secretary, and to her boss ‘Fitz,’ as she often referred to Judge Fitzgerald. Sydney would probably still be a secretary had it not been for Dell and the chance to spend many of their golden years together traveling around the country in their motor home. In reflecting back on Sydney’s, life it is easy to see how much she loved and cared for others. Equally easy to recognize was why people loved her. In addition to her being a very caring and loyal individual, she also had a wit and ability to retell stories of good times, which meant that time spent with her was often accompanied by much shared laughter. For these reasons, and many more that cannot fully be expressed on paper, Sydney will be missed and thought of dearly and often.”

Sydney was preceded in death by her husband, Dell Chandler Dodge; parents; sister, Harriet Brannin; Step-mother, Lois Fisk; nephew, Richard Sidney Hickman; grandson, Brennan Darrell Christianson; and former husband, William Henry Sorgenfrei.

She is survived by her daughter, Janis Margaret Christianson of Houston; granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Markie Louise and Timothy Michael Christianson Blumer of Henderson, Nev.; great-grandson, Leif Brenmark Christianson Blumer of Henderson; sister, Margaret Alice Brannin Hickman of Anchorage; niece, Rochelle Francis Hickman Norton of Anchorage; daughter in-law, Kathy Dodge Meyer of Tacoma, Wash.; grandson, Anthony Chandler Dodge of Tacoma; great-grandsons, Dakota Austin, Maximus Taylor and Evan William Dodge, all of Tacoma; half-brother, Allen Scott Brannin of Port Angeles, Wash.; half-sisters, Judith Lee Brannin-Wagoner of Sedro Wooley, Wash., and Bonnie Jo Brannin Kirkendall of Renton, Wash.; son in-law, Vernon Darrell Christianson of Anchorage and Lake Wateree, S.C.; various extended family members, step-children, step-grandchildren, cousins, in-laws, friends, co-workers, care providers and animal companions.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Sydney Dodge to Big Lake Elementary School, P.O. Box 520049, Big Lake, AK 99652.

Arrangements were by Valley Funeral Home and Crematory.