Luisa Stoughton

Longtime Juneau resident Luisa Stoughton lost a 15-year struggle with breast cancer on May 4, 2007. She was 60. She died peacefully and gracefully at her oceanside home, surrounded by family, friends and her dog, Killik.
A memorial celebration for friends and family will be at 4 p.m. May 26 in front of her home at 15255 Point Louisa Road.
She was born Jan. 8, 1947, in Dallas, Texas, but as an Army officer's daughter, she moved frequently. She attended several colleges before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland. In her early years, she lived in Munich, Germany; Aix en Provence, France; and the San Francisco Bay area.
Her family wrote: "In 1976, she moved to Alaska in search of adventure and a life worth living. After working for the state for a year, she began to work in movies, a lifelong love. She had cameo appearances in the George Attla movie 'Spirit of the Wind,' and was one of five main crew members who made that movie the success it was. For the next 31 years, partnering with her husband, Joel, she traveled widely throughout remote regions of the world, working on films about musk ox in Greenland, swans and monkeys in Japan, penguins in Antarctica and snow leopards in Mongolia. But no matter how exotic these trips were, she always yearned to return home to work on films involving wolves, bears and the great wildlife of Alaska. Her dedication to wildlife conservation and love for all animals was sustained and far-reaching.
"Her other adventures included exploring East Africa, trekking in Nepal, canoeing and rafting arctic rivers, and living and eating well wherever she was.
"Of all the things that mattered, Luisa was most at peace in wild Alaska. She traveled and camped extensively in most regions of the state and, with her husband, built a cabin in Funter Bay on Admiralty Island and a hand-hewn log cabin near the Robertson River in Interior Alaska. These retreats and sanctuaries were a major source of her inspiration, strength and healing for more than 20 years."
Luisa is survived by her husband, Joel Bennett; mother, Marguerite Stoughton; sisters, Julia Millon, Anne Brown and Mary Briere; nephews, Tom Millon, John Millon and Matthew Briere; and nieces, Samantha Stoughton and Francoise Briere.
Her father, Tom R. Stoughton, Maj. Gen., U.S. Army, died in 2000.
"Luisa will be long remembered for her quirky wit, tireless humor, strength in the face of adversity, love of the movies and the Rolling Stones -- and just pure style," he family added. " 'Life is too short to drink cheap wine,' she would say. She would tell you to do the things that really make you happy, and, above all else, have a good time."
She was cremated and her ashes will be scattered in the places she loved the most: Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska, the Robertson River in the Interior and the Himalayan Mountains.
Donations in her memory can be made to either Friends of Admiralty, Box 20791, Juneau 99802, or the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, 419 Sixth St., No. 200, Juneau 99801.