In Memoriam 2020 Each year we look back with fond memories of the AMA members who have left us in the past year.
LEO MARK-ANTHONY MILT BEHR
CHRIS BIRCH
ROGER JENKINS
programs in the high schools, bush villages and the University of Alaska rural campuses helping many young people get a start in the construction industry with good-paying jobs. Milt was a lifetime member of the Alaska Miners Association. Chris Birch Alaska miners and the entire state lost a great leader and states- man when Anchorage Sen. Chris Birch passed away suddenly in Au- gust 2019. He was 68. Birch’s proud family history in Alaska began in 1944 when his fa- ther, Frank, was stationed on Adak Island while serving in the U.S. Ma- rine Corps. Growing up in mining camps near Fairbanks and the Brooks Range, Birch followed in his father’s foot- steps, earning a bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from the Uni- versity of Alaska Fairbanks in 1972 and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management in 1979. He was very active in the Alaska Miners Association and was a regu- lar at the Friday morning Anchorage AMA breakfasts, giving thoughtful insight and updates from the Alaska Legislature, blended with jokes de- livered with his quick grin. “I’m the only mining engineer in the Legislature,” he said often and with great pride, adding that it gave him unique insight into the demands on and needs of Alaska’s mining in- dustry. Birch served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 2017-2018 and the Alaska Senate in 2019, in addition to membership on both the
Anchorage and Fairbanks assemblies and other numerous community or- ganizations throughout his life. He is survived by his wife, Pam, two children and four grandchildren. Roger Jenkins Roger Jenkins, a former Alaska legislator and fighter for conserva - tives, passed away in June at Prov- idence Hospital in Anchorage after complications from a previous sur- gery. Jenkins was born in 1941 in Min- nesota, where he was raised. Once he decided his future was in the “last frontier” of Alaska, Jenkins headed north traveling from Minnesota with a longtime friend. He had been a high school sci- ence and math instructor for five years, scoutmaster and camp coun- selor, YMCA swimming instructor, construction iron worker, Universi- ty of Alaska Geology and Geography instructor, City of Anchorage engi- neering administrator, a consulting mineral geologist and village ad- ministrative officer at Nikolai and McGrath. He was involved with Alaska Miners, Chugach Gem and Mineral Society and was a member of the Id- itarod Dogsled Race Committee from 1989-2002. Jenkins served a two-year term from 1985-86 in the Alaska House. His passion was politics and getting Republicans elected to office. He is survived by his sister, Rita Jensen, and his brother Russell Jen- kins of Minnesota, as well as his close friend David Garrison.
Leo Mark-Anthony Longtime Alaskan resident Leo Mark Anthony passed away Nov. 6, 2019, while wintering in Green Val - ley, Ariz. He was 93. Leo came to the Territory of Alas- ka in 1946 after serving as a Para - trooper during World War II. He graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks as a mining engi- neer and spent many years traveling around Alaska teaching prospect- ing and small-scale mining. He was Professor Emeritus of the University of Alaska and a Director Emeritus of the Alaska Miners Association. He is survived by his wife of 64 years Beverly and three sons and their wives: Michael and Margret; Don and Joy; and Robert and Ana. Milt Behr Milton Douglas Behr reached the end of his colorful and adventurous trail April 10, at age 72. He and his four sisters grew up in the small farming community of Richfield, Idaho. After service in the Guard and a tour of Europe in 1974, he came back to Alaska and never left. He and his wife Lisa spent 45 years together, building a home together and rais- ing a family. Most of his working life was in construction and mining. He worked as a heavy equipment operator, me- chanic and foreman, operating all types of equipment and truly was a master operator. He owned and op- erated his own business, Behr Alaska Trucking and Excavating. After retiring, he did consultant work setting up construction trades
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The Alaska Miner
October 2020
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