July 30, 1939-July 10, 2024
This obituary was written by Leo’s family.
It is with sadness that our family announces the passing of Leo Merculief. Leo passed away peacefully at home on July 10, 2024, with family by his side. He is in a beautiful place with no more pain.
Leo was born on St. George Island, Alaska on July 30, 1939. In 1942, at the height of World War II and the perceived threat of Japanese invasion, the United States government relocated his family and village to Funter Bay in southeast Alaska where they were interned for 2 years.
Unsanitary conditions and illness resulted in the loss of life of friends and family members from his village. Leo and his family returned to St. George Island in 1944. During his early years he enjoyed hunting, fishing and playing games and pranks with cousins, friends and especially his best friend, Father Paul Merculief. But living under government rule was not easy, with food and healthcare often lacking.
Education was not offered beyond the 8th grade on St. George Island, so Leo was sent to Washington state in 1955 and lived with a friend’s family and attended Snohomish High School. He met his wife Christine while attending Edison Technical school studying airline electronics and they married in 1962. Shortly afterward, they started their family and had 3 children, Todd, Brian and Jill. They lived in Kirkland, WA for many years near his brother Joe and his family. Leo worked in the manufacturing industry for several years. In 1975 he was compelled to give back to his people and was elected to the Aleut Corporation board of directors where he served until 1979. He was then elected Chairman of the Board and served until 1986. After that, Leo ventured into other management positions with the engineering firm CH2M Hill, and other local companies, even returning to native corporation management later in life by briefly serving as CEO of the St. George Tanaq Village Corporation.
But perhaps his greatest life battle came after he experienced a medical emergency in 2001 that required intense healthcare management for the rest of his life. He had frequent flyer miles in local hospitals! Despite this, he found time to get his real estate license, enjoy plenty of family events and vacations, and work on his life manuscript. He and his wife Christine also donated their time raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind and taking numerous road trips and vacations to Hawaii. His will to live, desire to tell his people’s history, and stubborn personality kept him going. He liked to tell stories about his life growing up with his unique humor and sarcasm. Attentive grandchildren enjoyed learning about Aleut history, culture and language. He loved his grandchildren and was very proud of their education and accomplishments.
Unangan politics was in his blood, and he passionately involved himself through research and advocacy, creating his own blog and website where he documented Unangan culture, history and language and supported Unangan writers, artists, storytellers and linguists. Leo was extremely passionate about writing an Aleut manuscript about history, education and culture. Unfortunately, he passed away before completing the manuscript. We plan on finishing this in the future. For more information visit www.thealeutelder.com.
Leo is preceded in death by his mother Angelina and brother Joe. He is survived by his wife Christine, children Todd, Brian (Elizabeth) and Jill (Gary), his grandchildren Alexis (Caleb), Evan (Julietta), Collette (Troy), Jourdan, Addy (Jake), Jason, and his great-grandchildren Alden, Eliza, Fin, Indie, Santi, Emerson, Nora, and soon to be born 8th great grandchild. He is also survived by his sister Elizabeth (Father Paul, deceased), sister-in-law Kathi (Joe, deceased), sister-in-law Arlene (Jim) and numerous nieces and nephews.
