We will miss you more than words can say

It was not at all unusual to pick up the phone in the newsroom and hear Mary Kvalheim’s voice at the other end. She called equally to praise our efforts, whip us into shape or to roust us to action.

The last time we spoke with her she called from her hospital bed at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in January.

“You’re in the hospital, Mary. What are you doing on my phone? You should be taking care of yourself,” our editor fussed at her.

“I had to call. I’m so worked up about this,” Kvalheim said, while waiting to be transported to an Anchorage hospital for heart surgery.

She survived the heart surgery and had returned to her Wasilla home, but was found dead there Jan. 31 of natural causes. She was 68.

There’s something about Kvalheim, perhaps it was her servant’s nature that drew people to her. Something in her gracious manner had a way of making people feel like they’d known her forever — this wife, mother, grandmother and local public servant.

Kvalheim was a public servant from another era. She took the title literally; she spent much of her life in service to her community. She was an advocate for kids, animals, the environment and her community. She was a smiling face and a kind heart. She also had a gift for lifting others up when they needed her most.

We see much to admire about a woman who made listening to and helping others her priorities.

“Her spirit was truly large in that way. You don’t have to agree with each other to be able to talk and find some common ground,” said Mollie Boyer, who recalled Kvalheim’s crucial role in getting funding for the new Valley Community for Recycling Solutions.

Kvalheim served two terms on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly and worked at the Mat-Su Legislative Information Office for 23 years before joining U.S. Sen. Mark Begich’s staff.

“She was wonderful in all the jobs that she had,” said longtime friend Katie Hurley, 92. “It’s a real loss for this area.”

Wasilla City Council member Dianne Woodruff recalled Kvalheim as a regular face at council meetings.

“The biggest thing about Mary was she really cared, and she cared enough to really make a difference,” Woodruff said.

Too often these days, the local people elected to office as public servants do not serve the public’s interest. Based on the votes they take and the ordinances and resolutions they introduce, it seems they serve masters other than the people who live here.

We will miss Kvalheim for her tireless advocacy for the people who live here. We will miss her tenacious, yet gentle, knack for problem-solving. We will miss her as a mentor and a role model. We will miss her servant’s spirit.

As her longtime friend Hurley said, we will miss her more than words can say. But we are grateful for having had her friendship all these years.