Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

There will be a private family celebration of the life of former resident Jeanetta Rae Carder Weedman, 65, whose parents were homesteaders at Lutak. She died May 16 at the Whatcom Hospice in Fairhaven, WA of colon cancer, her stepdaughter Dorothy Sammons said. 

Weedman was born Feb. 2, 1954 in the Skagway hospital to Ray and Viola Carder of Haines, and grew up across the Chilkoot River bridge with her three brothers and a sister in what was then very rural Lutak. The road to town was dirt and there were no utilities. Her parents worked at the old Army tank farm and had a small sport fishing business, renting skiffs and tackle that she helped with.  She was the valedictorian and Homecoming Prom Queen of the Haines High School class of '72.  

Classmate Tony Tengs said, "Jeanetta was my fifth grade crush." The traits that he admired then remained throughout her life. "She was super sweet, pretty, smart, gentle, and one of those people in life who help glue it all together and make things work, quietly, and efficiently, behind the scenes." 

She attended Marylhurst University in Portland with two other Haines High grads, KA Gregg Swiger and Cheryl Martin Pleas seeking "fun and adventure together" Swiger said. Pleas noted Weedman enjoyed occasional mischief such as when the trio breached an off limits bell tower to enjoy the view of campus. Weedman also attended the University of Hawaii before returning to Haines where she worked at Howsers grocery store. She married Walter Weedman, whose mother was a popular cook at the Bamboo Room, Aug. 15, 1975 in Golden, Colorado.  They settled in Haines and had two sons: Duane, who preceded her in death, and Raymond (Bubba). She raised her stepdaughter Dorothy whom she loved as her own.

The Weedman's relocated to Juneau when the children were small. "Her love and attention to her family was total. She made a house a home," Sammons said, and could have taught others the art of being a "professional domestic engineer." She liked her pet dogs and cats, to cook, tend her garden, and organize her household. Her hobbies included crafting, fishing, and spending time with friends. "She took very good care of my dad," a construction worker, Sammons said. "She'd be up at three in the morning making him breakfast, packing a lunch and often times baking treats for the whole construction crew."

The Weedmans moved to Birch Bay in 2004 and her parents followed to be near her. They lived in the same neighborhood and she cared for them, especially her mother following her father's death. Viola Carder is 92 and resides in a Birch Bay area assisted living facility. 

Jeanetta Rae Weedman's childhood and young adult years spent in Haines were among her fondest the most formative. "All her life, Haines was just who she was," Sammons said.

In addition to her son Raymond, step-daughter Dorothy, mother Viola, and husband of 44 years, Walter; Jeanetta leaves siblings Simone, James, and Michael Carder; grandchildren Alexandria Tritten and Alex and Monique Baz; two great grandchildren and one on the way, and three nieces and nephews. Weedman's brother Scott, also preceded her in death.