Lena Nance and Jake Narum were married June 1 at Letnikof Cove pavilion surrounded by family and friends. Ring bearer was also their 1 and half year-old son Jaxon. Bridal party included maid of honor Rebecka Cooper, bridesmaids Nicole Gustafson, Susie House, Courtney Calaway, Jackie St. Clair, Kelsey Paulson, and Ashton Edwards. The groom’s party included, best man Nate Narum, groomsmen Mike Dunlevy, Woody Pahl, Chris Paulson, Keith House and Bill Wilson. Jake’s parents are Teena Larson and Don Narum and Lena’s parents are Corey and Cathy Nance. Karen Concannon was the officiant.
Zak and Melissa Little welcome baby Imogen Grace O’Connor to the world on June 3 in a small cabin in Houston, Alaska. She was born at 2:31 a.m. and weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces. The couple are excited about their new addition to the family.
Larry and Jeanie Beck have just returned from a three-week transAtlantic cruise that started in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and finished in Barcelona with plenty of stops in between. Highlights of the trip were over two weeks of sunshine and visiting the Azores and Madeira, Spain. They enjoyed touring the Spanish cities and old castle and admiring architecture. They also enjoyed a Tuk Tuk tour in Funshal, Portugal where a local guide shared his enthusiasm and pride of his community and country. They also stopped in Casablanca, Africa where they toured the fourth largest mosque, Hassan II, in the world. “Their trip was wonderful and I loved not having to make my bed, cleaning, making meals, it was very stress free,” said Jeanie. While away the couple’s five children, Kaleb, Kayden, Jayda, Avery, and Jersey Beck were taken care of by Joann Waterman and Phyllis Sage.
Haines Packing Co. was featured in last week’s National Fisherman magazine online. As one of the oldest operating canneries in Alaska it featured a Q and A with owners and manager Harry and Genny Rietze. The Rietze’s bought the fish processing facility from Harry’s father Hugh Rietze and uncle Alton Sullivan in 2013. Along with their two children, little Hugh and Lottie Rietze and support from their local fleet, Harry and Genny continue work toward making the cannery an efficient processing facility.
Former resident JJ Lende recently ran the Clif Mountains 2 Beach Marathon in Ventura, California. JJ ran the marathon in 3 hours and 8 minutes, a personal best, which qualifies her for the Boston and New York marathons. “I placed 17th overall, second in my age group,” said JJ. Sister and marathon runner Sarah Elliott was proud of her sister’s success.
John and Cheryl Katzeek’s granddaughter Brook France set the record at Pacific University for winning the javelin throw for the first individual national title in program history at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a throw of 146 feet 5 inches.
Susie McCartney and her daughter Patience Nelson have returned from hot and sunny Austin, Texas to watch her brother’s son Dave McCartney and nephew Christian McCartney graduate from University of Texas. Christian’s sisters Chloe and Savannah McCartney also attended along with Susie’s mother Jan Maumas who made a quick turnaround trip from Florida, as she had just gotten in from Israel. Highlights were paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake, eating at food trucks and fancy restaurants and also connecting with Susie’s longtime friends Philip and Betsey Dewey on their 20-acre ranch in southeast Austin. “Patience made fast friends with their boys Kai and Paige and loved driving on their John Deere Gator,” said Susie. Patience’s favorite part of the trip was swimming at the Deep Eddy pool, which is also the oldest pool in Texas, eating water ice, and visiting Rio Vista farms where she got to watch cousin Chloe getting a riding lesson on her horse North.
Jenny Lyn Smith has returned from Fort Worth, Texas where she visited her daughter Azure Smith Jenson, husband Matt and children Wade, Camden and Tori Jensen. While there, she attended the Charles Scwab Challenge professional golf tournament at the Colonial Country Club. She attended the tournament with her brother-in-law David Sheldon and mostly sat at hole 9 where she viewed famous golfers Jordan Speith and overall winner Kevin Na, who was awarded a Dodge Charger which he gave to his caddy. “I was shocked at how hundreds of people could all the sudden go so quiet during the tournament,” said Jenny Lyn. She also brought granddaughter Camden back to Haines to stay for a few weeks before the rest of her family joins her. “We have had a great time golfing, quilting, and enjoying Camden’s rainbow jello she made,” Jenny Lyn said.

Author