Jill Kranenburg

1945 - 2023

"Don't be sad. I'll see you again in heaven." That is what Jill said to her lifelong friend when they visited recently after her cancer diagnosis, and it is what she would say to you too.

Jill (Dunlap) Kranenburg entered heaven on Sunday, May 28, 2023, just in time for church. Her spirit and love is carried on by her family, her amazing friends, and the countless students she mentored.

Jill was born in Sacramento, California, on March 26, 1945, to Clyde and Martha Dunlap. Her family moved to Fairbanks in 1951. Jill grew up in Fairbanks and graduated from Lathrop high school in 1963. She later followed a boy to Oregon, and while that relationship didn't work out, she ended up finishing her degree at Southern Oregon College in Ashland. There she met her future husband, Gary Kranenburg (known to many as Kran). Gary and Jill were married in 1969 and lived in Oregon during the early years of their marriage and the arrival of their two children, Scott and Marna. Jill was ready to be back in Alaska and the pull of the pipeline brought the family north where they eventually settled in Tok, Alaska, in 1978.

While Jill and Kran tried their hands at many businesses over the years in Tok, Jill's legacy is her years teaching at Tok School and mentoring for the Alaska Gateway School District, where she was known affectionately as "Mrs. Kran." The many children of Tok, Tetlin, Northway, Tanacross, and Eagle brought Jill immeasurable joy throughout her time teaching and in the years that followed - she rejoiced in their successes as young adults and community members.

Those who knew Jill were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from her over the years. First among them is to give people second chances, then give people third chances. Also, be a teacher to someone in your life. Always bring snacks. Laugh often. Go to yard sales and buy lots of treasures, some for yourself and some for others. Sing. Sing for your friends.

Those who have taken her lessons to heart will remember to save plastic containers so that you can provide a meal to a sick friend in their time of need. They will have gifts and cards on hand so that you are always ready to brighten a day. They won't say, "I don't dance" - they will learn how, and dance often. They will be a good friend. They will practice thrift but know when to splurge. They will make sure and tell the cook that the meal was "to die for." Finally, they will be someone's cheerleader, literally and figuratively. Jill knew that sometimes people just need a little love in their corner to make the difference. Jill did not simply "teach" these lessons, she lived them every day of her life.

Above all Jill loved the lord. In her short illness she was in perfect peace knowing that she was soon to meet Jesus. She was also very firm in her belief that she had won the "friend lottery." When asked about her greatest treasures, she was quick to say her grandchildren and children, but she never forgot the amazing friendships that have followed her throughout her life, reveling often in the quality of excellent humans she had the pleasure to know and love.

Jill was preceded in death by her parents, Clyde and Martha Dunlap, her brother Jack Dunlap and her husband Gary Kranenburg. She will be deeply missed by her son Scott Kranenburg and his children, Bec, Melody, Blair, Samantha, and Charles; by her daughter Marna Sanford and her husband, Ed; by her nephew Robb Dunlap and his wife Michaleen and daughters Creighton, Bronwyn, Ava and Addison, and again by the amazing number of friends and found-family she has amassed during her beautiful time on earth. A joint memorial for Jill and her mother, Martha Dunlap, will be held July 1, 2023, at 2 p.m. at the Tok School Multipurpose room.