;)
Yesterday afternoon I learned that Dr. Walter Soboleff had passed away in Juneau Sunday at the age of 102. So I have postponed for tomorrow what I had planned for today in order to dedicate this post solely to his memory and honor.
I am not going to write much about him right now, save to say that he was truly one of the most honorable, decent, and gentle men that I have ever met and that he was a truly a giant in shaping those parts of modern-day Alaska that are good. It did not matter if one was Native, white, black, Asian or other - in the presence of Dr. Walter Soboleff, one felt only love and warmth - and this was true even if what Dr. Soboleff was doing was fighting for Native rights.
I know, because I personally felt that warmth and love and I could see that all who came into his presence also felt it.
As a member of Yeil (Raven) moiety, L'eeneido (Dog Salmon) clan, he loved, respected, protected and advanced his Tlingit way of life and culture, but embraced that which he found good in all cultures. He became a Presbyterian minister at a time when segregation was strong in Alaska and church congregations were divided by race - white only, Native only...
Yet, he invited anyone of any race to join his congregation and so created the first integrated congregation in Alaska.
He was a leader in the Alaska Native Brotherhood and in anything related to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures and happenings of Southeast Alaska. He was a chaplain in the Alaska Army National Guard, from which he retired after 20 years as a lieutenant colonel. In 1989, he was named AFN citizen of the year.
I cannot recall exactly in what year, but just as I had the recent honor to cover Katie John receiving her honorary Doctor's Degree from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, so too was I able to cover Dr. Soboleff when UAF bestowed the same honor upon him and Dr. Kenneth Toovak of Barrow. Even before that, in 1968, he had received an honorary doctorate of humanities from the University of Alaska and in 1952 an honorary doctorate of divinity from the University of Dubuque, where he had earned his bachelor's degree in 1933.
Once, before that time, I received a letter from Dr. Soboleff out of the clear blue. It had been years since I had spoken with him, yet something prompted him to write to me to tell me that he appreciated my work and to encourage me to keep it up.
I know this sounds a bit like I am boasting, but to receive that letter from this man for no other reason than that one day he decided to write it touched me deeply and indeed it did encourage me and continues to to this day.
I took the above photo at Celebration 2004 in Juneau, as Dr. Soboleff took his place for a panoramic photo of all the dancers and singers present. At that time, he was a young 96 years old.
Thank you, Dr. Soboleff and to your family, my condolences. What a privilege it must have been for you to have been raised and shaped by this wonderful man. Thank you for sharing him with so many.