{"id":3879,"date":"2013-10-15T04:56:22","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T00:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blogblog\/?p=3879"},"modified":"2014-01-18T05:30:38","modified_gmt":"2014-01-18T01:30:38","slug":"in-memory-of-ellen-hope-hayes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/in-memory-of-ellen-hope-hayes\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memory of Ellen Hope Hayes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ellen Hope Hayes – 2007<\/p><\/div>\n

The first time I met Ellen Hope Hayes was at the Pioneer Cafe, Sitka, Alaska back in 1985.\u00a0 I had just finished a meal with some friends and I was waiting for a ride to come pick me up.\u00a0 I noticed how this beautiful, elderly woman had been staring at me for quite some time; she finally got up and came sat down by me when my friends had left.\u00a0 First thing that came out of her mouth:\u00a0 “I think I know who your mother and father are.”\u00a0 With that famous smile and equally famous glint in her eye, she continued:\u00a0 ” I’ve been watching you.\u00a0 You look like your father but you act like your mother…Is her name Irene Sarabia?”<\/p>\n

We laughed.\u00a0 She reminisced about her and her first husband, Roger Lang, going to school together at Sheldon Jackson School with my mother back in the late 40’s.\u00a0 She said my mother was just way too much fun!\u00a0 And ever since this first introduction, we were street acquaintances.\u00a0 Throughout the years, we would see one another in passing, on the ferry boat, at Centennial Hall in Juneau, during a Clan Conference, at a potlatch, or at a memorial service.\u00a0 We would catch a few lines, give one another hugs, shake hands and hearts “until we meet again.”<\/p>\n

One of the most gracious women I have ever come to know; an inspiration to all of us younger women to learn how to become (if we aren’t that way already – and God knows, I sure wasn’t born with much grace!).<\/p>\n

The following is an obituary from the Sitka Sentinel, October 11th, 2013:<\/p>\n

“Ellen Hope Hays, who made history when she was named superintendent of Sitka National Historical Park, passed away peacefully on Oct. 8, 2013.\u00a0 She was 85 years old.\u00a0 Ellen was living at the Sitka Pioneers Home at the time of her death.\u00a0 She had moved back to Sitka from Bainbridge Island, Wash., in January 2013.<\/p>\n

Ellen was born Dec. 29, 1927, the seventh of 14 children born to Andrew and Tillie Hope of Sitka.\u00a0 She was a Tlingit of the Raven moiety, Kik\u2019sadi Clan and Point House.\u00a0 Her clan name was Kaa Katlin (Raven Looking Forward).\u00a0 She was raised and lived much of her life in Alaska.\u00a0 She married Roger Lang and they had one child, Karen Valorie Lang.\u00a0 In 1978 she married Henry Hays, and they moved to Bainbridge Island, Wash., in 1994.
\nEllen was a graduate of Sheldon Jackson School, and was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree from the University of Alaska in 1996.\u00a0 Ellen spent her professional career with the National Park Service and on July 9, 1974, she became the first woman and the first Alaska Native to be appointed superintendent of a national park in the Pacific Northwest.
\nShe also was the first woman to apply and be accepted as a member of the Alaska Native Brotherhood.\u00a0 She was instrumental in the Brotherhood\u2019s successful effort to operate the Visitor Center craft shop wing of Sitka National Historical Park, which eventually became known as the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center.
\nThroughout her life, Ellen promoted the values of art and the humanities.\u00a0 She served on many boards and commissions that were dedicated to these causes, both in Alaska and Washington.
\nEllen forged many enduring friendships throughout her life.\u00a0 She was a mentor, friend, and teacher to many.\u00a0 She was passionate about her family, her heritage, the arts and education.\u00a0 She believed one should always be learning.
\nEllen is survived by her husband, Henry Hays, of Bainbridge Island, Wash.; daughter Karen Coleman of Sitka; granddaughter, Kendra Pountney (Michael) of Sitka; grandson Jerrick Fulkerson of Juneau; and great- grandson Robert Pountney of Sitka.\u00a0 She is also survived by two brothers, Fred Hope (Margaret) of Sitka,\u00a0 and Percy Hope of Juneau.\u00a0 She also has numerous nieces and nephews, and is survived by her dearest friends Herb and Polly Didrickson of Sitka.
\nA memorial service will be held later in the Fall.\u00a0 In lieu of flowers, please send remembrances of Ellen to her family (c\/o Karen Coleman) at PO Box 92, Sitka, AK\u00a0 99835.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first time I met Ellen Hope Hayes was at the Pioneer Cafe, Sitka, Alaska back in 1985.\u00a0 I had just finished a meal with some friends and I was waiting for a ride to come pick me up.\u00a0 I noticed how this beautiful, elderly woman had been staring at me for quite some time; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-honoring-others"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3879"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3888,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions\/3888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarissarizal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}