A legacy runs through it
A red and white bobber brought Stacy Studebaker to Alaska.
Her journey started when she was just 5 or 6 years old, and her father gave her a bamboo fishing rod with a bobber, hook, and worm.
She grew into and out of fishing gear over the years as the two of them fished from the East Coast to the West Coast, from Florida to the Rocky Mountains, from the southeast to the Far North.
“They say the love of nature develops in the hearts of fly fishermen,” Stacy said.
Carrying the love forward
Today, their family has thrown a line to a future they want to protect. Though John “Gordie” Studebaker never called Alaska his home, he left the state a legacy gift that continues his life’s work.
That legacy includes a bequest to Trustees for Alaska. We are thankful for his gift, and honored to carry his love of nature forward.
A second home
Stacy said her father wanted to protect Alaska for future generations, and to safeguard the rivers and natural places essential for all life.
His relationship with Alaska began when Stacy headed north in the late 1970s. She first worked in Glacier Bay and Katmai national parks, and later taught high school science in Kodiak for over 20 years. She also produced an award-winning public radio show called “My Green Earth” on KMXT, Kodiak.
Her father visited her almost every year.
Holding the line
When Gordie got older and could no longer use his fly-fishing rod, he sat in a chair along the Pasagshak River with a hook in the water, and a red and white bobber holding the line. Alaska had become a second home to him by then.
He died at 97.
When Stacy returned to the river to leave some of his ashes, she didn’t know at first where to put them, but then she looked down at the earthen bank and saw, partially hidden, a red and white bobber. It had always been her guide.
Now she has a cabin near that spot on the river. You might say that red and white bobber keeps holding the line.
Help shape Alaska’s future by choosing Trustees for Alaska in your will or estate planning. For more information, contact Tracy Lohman, development director, at tlohman@trustees.org or (907) 433-2006.