Edna Wilder Cryan

1916 - 2011

Lifelong Alaskan Edna Wilder Cryan, 95, passed away peacefully at her home Dec. 13, 2011, surrounded by her family.
Edna was born March 25, 1916, to Arthur and Minnie Tucker in Bluff, a small mining community on the Seward Peninsula.
Her father came from England and entered the North by way of the Chilkoot Pass during the Gold Rush stampede in 1898. Her mother was an Inupiaq Eskimo.
Her father provided for her education by obtaining books and correspondence classes from England. Much of Edna's time as a young girl was spent learning to provide food for the family by hunting, fishing, and gold mining with her father. She became a keen observer of nature during the hours she spent roaming the tundra.  
Edna married her first husband, Dan Wilder, in Nome in 1941, and they moved to Fairbanks in 1942, where Dan was a draftsman for the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska. They raised their two sons, Arthur and Robert, in Fairbanks. Edna supplemented the family income by fur sewing which she learned from her mother.
Their family friend and neighbor was Ted Lambert, a well-known Alaskan artist. When she expressed an interest in his work, he extended an invitation to Edna to observe him painting. This time proved to be well spent, and Edna found herself drawing on her childhood observations of nature for material and her artistic career began.
She continued to expand her career with the addition of sculpting in wood and soapstone. In May 1967, Edna was a performing artist in The Art in Action program in the Alaska-67 Centennial Celebration at Alaskaland - now Pioneer Park - in Fairbanks.
The Fairbanks flood in 1967 presented many challenges for Edna. Her longtime home in Fairbanks was destroyed, and a new home needed to be built before winter. She lost her husband, Dan, to cancer within a few months. Her artwork became a means of making a living.
In 1970, she was invited to become the first Native instructor in the Art of Skin Sewing class at the University of Alaska. She did not feel there was an adequate textbook to cover the material she presented, so she wrote her first book entitled "Secrets of Eskimo Skin Sewing."
In 1979, she married Alexander Cryan, who was her loving companion for the rest of her life. No longer needing to work full time as an artist, she began focusing on her writing.
During her time at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, she also took classes in journalism. Remembering the advice of her journalism instructors, especially Jimmy Bedford, she drew from her own background to write about her mother's lifetime, "Once Upon An Eskimo Time" and "The Eskimo Girl and the Englishman."
Edna felt strongly every person should be treated with respect and acknowledged for their achievements. Her warm personality was appreciated by the organizations she was involved with, which included the Midnight Sun Fly Casters, the Fairbanks Retriever Club, the Yukon Historical Society, Ducks Unlimited, and the Pioneers of Alaska.
For being a positive role model, her community involvement, and her accomplishments, she was selected by the Girl Scouts as a Woman of Distinction in 2002.
Edna was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Minnie Tucker; her husband, Dan; her son, Art, and brothers, Sam, George and Haley.
Her survivors include, husband, Alex Cryan; son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Toni Wilder; daughter-in-law Carolyn Wilder; grandchildren, James, Susan, Aron, and Brian Wilder; great-grandchildren, Carolyn, Dale, and Charlie Wilder; and great-great-grandson, Jason Bosson. She also leaves brothers-in-law, Ian (Linda), and Francis Cryan, and numerous other family members.
A memorial Mass will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, at Holy Family Chapel at Monroe High School in Fairbanks.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Zamber's International Vision Quest, www.i-v-q.org or The Monroe Foundation, P.O. Box 71620, Fairbanks, AK 99707.