Lenora Conkle

LeNora Josephine (Quint, Huntley) Conkle, 103, passed away quietly at the Fairbanks Pioneer Home on Thursday, February 7, 2013. On the 10th a small service was held at the Pioneer Home and a Celebration of Life for this summer in the Copper River Basin, where its ashes will spread over the Eagle Trail Ranch.

LeNora was born on a small ranch near Hazleton, Idaho, on August 10, 1909. She was the third of ten children of Jesse Dudley and Olga Elfrieda Otille (Mueller) Quint. He graduated from Boise High School and then married Alonzo D. Huntley on August 28, 1927. They had three children: Glen Alonzo, Richard Lloyd, and Jessie “Fay.” LeNora and Al divorced in 1940 in California.

During the tight rations and tough times of World War II, LeNora shared a large home with two of her sisters in San Diego, California. By pooling their finances and skills, they managed to have a comfortable life while raising their children.

LeNora arrived in Alaska in June 1946 with her new husband, Clement M. “Bud” Conkle, both in their 30s. They spent several years living and working in Fairbanks. After a winter in Nabesna, they decided that Lake Tanada, on the north side of the Wrangell Mountains, was the place for them. They began working on a small farm on the southwest coast, using a team of dogs to transport the necessary materials. The following summer / fall, while Bud was learning to fly, LeNora gave birth to their son, Colin. They traveled backpacking and dog sledding to and from Nabesna Road for a couple of years until they were able to afford a J-3 Cub aircraft.

Bud and LeNora soon got into the business of hunting and guided fishing while increasing their log cabin on Lake Tanada. They expanded their hunt to: mountain goats near Katalla, brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula, and polar bears on the Arctic Peninsula. The couple welcomed many, many visitors over the years. More than a few of his fishing and hunting clients made return trips more than once.

In the 1960s, they began developing a 160-acre farm on Cobb Lake; near mile 57 of Tok Cutoff they called Eagle Trail Ranch. A 1¼-mile driveway expanded into hay and oat fields was doubled as a landing strip for the J-3 Cub. They both loved horses and soon had more than 20 to use in their new guiding area called Wolf Lake, on the north side of the Nutzotin Mountains, just 20 miles from the Canadian border. Bud was licensed as a Registered Guide for many years, then awarded “Master Guide # 19” in 1974.

LeNora could prepare a meal at any time for almost any number of guests. He loved to pick berries in the summer and always had a great garden. She used to say that she had “always known” to sew and that her San Diego-developed interior decorating skills served her well for Alaskan life – making tents, sleeping bags, airplane wings, engine covers, and many more. leather and fur articles. Done during the quiet times when Bud was away leading hunts. He also homeschooled Colin for many years.

In 1976, they moved from the small 3-room cabin on the farm to the new, modern log house that they had built with their own hands when they were 60 years old. LeNora loved that house! Suddenly there was room … room for a sewing corner, plenty of room for his book collection, and most important of all, a “trophy room” where Bud could display his trophies.

Bud passed away suddenly in February “85” and LeNora spent the next 10 winters traveling, visiting her children and grandchildren, while spending summers at her beloved Eagle Trail Ranch gardening and writing. (LeNora is the published author of five books about her life in Alaska.) In 1995, she sold Eagle Trail Ranch and moved to North Pole, where her oldest son, Glen Huntley, was with her until he passed away in 2007. Her granddaughter, Corri Conkle, stepped in to continue her care. At the age of 99, LeNora decided it was time to go to the Pioneer Home, where she resided until her death on February 7, 2013.

On February 10, 2010, LeNora was honored as an “Alaska Pioneer: By Alaska’s 26th Legislature, she was Grand Marshal of the July 4, 2011 Parade in Fairbanks, and in August 2012 she was recognized by Willard Scott of NBC as “A Centennial”.

For his 100th birthday, three days of celebrations were held in Fairbanks and North Pole with many of his family and friends. LeNora had always maintained an enormous typewritten, then handwritten, correspondence with hundreds of people, including the children and grandchildren of some of her early hunting clients; He continued to write letters until a few days before his death.

LeNora passed away before her parents and eight of her siblings, as well as her two sons Glen and Dick Huntley. She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Richmond of Napa, California, her daughter Fay Smith of Spanaway Washington, her son Colin Conkle of North Pole, and many grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. LeNora will be greatly missed by all who knew her indomitable spirit.