Catherine "Kay" Alter

Catherine Lena Alter; loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend died in her sleep July 31 at the Pioneer Home in Juneau, Alaska. Catherine was born Sept. 26, 1918 in Goodland, Indiana to Paul and Hulda Lehe. Her childhood and youth were spent on a farm in Indiana where her family and their Mennonite community instilled lasting values of good works, nonviolence, community service, and social justice. After graduating from Remington High School in 1936, she obtained an office skills degree from the Indiana Business College (Lafayette, Indiana 1937). She worked in various northern Indiana locations as an office secretary as well as a Notary Public. During this time she frequently traveled between her home and Lafayette carpooling with one Amos J. ‘Joe’ Alter … whom she married on Feb 22, 1940. When Joe joined the US Public Health Service in 1942 as part of the US war effort, Kay, as she was known to her family and friends, moved with him to various locations in the contiguous US and arrived in Alaska in 1944. After splitting time between Juneau and Ketchikan, they established their long-term Juneau residence in 1946 and continued to live in the community until the present except for a 7 year period during which they lived in Fairbanks. Kay was a devoted wife and mother who lovingly cared for her 4 children (two sons born in the mid 1940’s and two daughters born in the early 1950’s), sometimes by herself when her husband was on extended professional trips. In enumerable quiet ways Kay supported family and community. She was an active member of the Juneau Methodist Church, and then its successor the Northern Light United Church where, among many other roles, she taught Sunday School and helped with many holiday programs. She was also active in parent teacher organizations and Girl Scouts as her children progressed through school. In recognition of her exemplary family care, the Alaska Methodist Church bestowed upon her family its “Family of the Year” award in the late 1950s. She also held local, state, and national United Methodist Women (UMW) offices, including treasurer of the organization for the western third of the United States. Catherine was an involved supporter of local efforts to promote lasting peace and justice within the local and world communities. Catherine volunteered for many years. She was a docent at the city Museum and was an active member of the local chapters of the American Association of Retired Persons and the Juneau chapter of the Pioneers of Alaska. In recognition of her sustained commitment to community service, she and her husband served as Grand Marshals of the Juneau Fourth of July parade in 1993 as well as received a “Meritorious Service” award from the University of Alaska Southeast in 1994. After her children left home Catherine and Joe traveled internationally with many trips to Europe, Asia, Central America, Australia and New Zealand. Catherine will be remembered by many as the person who continually saw what was positive in people and situations … as the person always ready with an encouraging word and an offer of help … as the person who was always ready to subjugate her own needs to those of others when she thought it would help. Catherine was preceded in death by: her parents, Paul (1956) and Hulda (1981), her older brother, Raymond Lehe (1996), her husband of 60 years, Amos J. Alter (2000), and her daughter, Barbara (Alter) Fuller (2006). She is survived by: her sister, Ruth Unzicker of Fisher, Illinois, her two sons and daughters-in-law, Jim and Jean Ann Alter of Juneau and Jerry and Alice Alter of Dayton, Ohio, her daughter and son-in-law JoAnne and Larry Hayden of Anchorage, her son-in-law Tony Fuller of Cabool, Missouri, nine grandchildren, and a growing number of great-grandchildren (now 11). Catherine's family would like to specifically acknowledge and thank: the caring group of individuals that staff the Juneau Pioneer Home for their compassionate care and support they provided her. Her family invites others to join them in viewing photos from though out Catherine’s life at the Jackson Funeral Chapel in Rensselaer on Saturday, October 10th at 12:30 pm, CST. A recording of the Memorial Service held in Juneau, Alaska celebrating Catherine's life will be available for viewing beginning at 1:00 pm. At 2:30 pm CST.her ashes will be interred at the nearby Weston Cemetery.

Catherine "Kay" Alter

September 26, 1918 - July 31, 2015