Mary E. Carey

Alaska pioneer and historian Mary E. Carey, 91, died suddenly June 18, 2004, at her lodge, Mary's McKinley View Lodge, at Mile 134 Parks Highway.

Visitation and viewing will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday at Valley Funeral Home in Wasilla. A funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Montana Creek Baptist Church, Mile 98 on the Parks Highway, near Talkeetna.

Mrs. Carey was born April 1, 1913, in Chatsworth, Ga. She came to Alaska in 1962 and quickly fell in love with the state and its people. She had been scheduled to be the grand marshal of the Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival this July, an honor her family said pleased her very much.

"Mary was most famous for her books, having written 16 books about her adventures," her family said. "She homesteaded in what is now Denali State Park when it was 100 miles to the nearest road. She lived in a tent while petitioning then-Gov. Egan to put a highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks which would pass through the area she thought had the prettiest view of Mount McKinley. Seven years later, the Parks Highway was finally completed, and she opened a business on the side of the road which her family still operates today. In her later years, Mary wrote a book, 'My Three Lives in Headlines,' which has been sold for a movie.

"Mary loved greeting customers and sharing 'her mountain' with everyone. She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends."

Mrs. Carey is survived by her daughter, Jean Carey Richardson of Denali Park; three grandchildren and their spouses, Linda and Martin Williams of Titusville, Fla., Carol and Karl Knudson of Cypress, Texas, and Joe and Melissa Richardson of Denali Park; two great-grandsons, Shawn Williams of Denali Park and Taylor Knudson of Cypress; three great-great-grandchildren, Austin, Hailey and Trey Williams of Bay City, Texas; and extended family and friends.

Arrangements are with Valley Funeral Home and Crematory of Wasilla.

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