Arliss Sturgulewski Obituary, Husband, Children

A former Alaska senator, Arliss Sturgulewski, has died on Thursday, at age 94.

Both Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson announced her death in prepared statements on Thursday, and they ordered state and municipal flags, respectively, to fly at half-staff at a date still to be determined, in her honor.

Sturgulewski made history as the first woman in Alaska to head a major party ticket in a gubernatorial campaign. She ran as a Republican candidate for governor in 1986, and though she lost, she remained active in Alaska politics.

From serving on the Anchorage Assembly and the Anchorage Charter Commission, Sturgulewski went on to represent Anchorage in the Alaska Senate from 1979-to 1993. She was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in 2009.

“Arliss lived a long life and served this state and its largest city at important historical junctures,” Dunleavy said in a statement Thursday. “Her commitment to building a civic-minded Alaska will be remembered.”

Sturgulewski was born on Sept. 27, 1927, in Blaine, Washington. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, Seattle, 1949, and her doctor of laws (honorary), from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, 1993.

Friends celebrated her 90th birthday with her in 2017. Sturgulewski was active in politics until the past two years. Although she had lived in College Village in Anchorage for many years, she had been living in the Alaska Pioneers Home recently.

She was vice-chairman New Capital Site Planning Commission in the 1970s and was a member of the Anchorage Area Planning and Zoning Commission.

Arliss Sturgulewski Husband & Children
Sturgulewski is related to the family of Sen. Lisa Murkowski through marriage.

Bernard Sturgulewski, her husband, died in a plane crash in 1968.

Their son, Roe is married to Carol Murkowski, one of the six children of Nancy and former Gov. Frank Murkowski.