Cynthia Toohey, Longtime Alaskan Force for Good, Passes Away at 86
Longtime resident and true Alaskan Cynthia Toohey, 86, passed away peacefully on Jan. 29 at the Anchorage Pioneer Home. Born April 16, 1934, in New York City to Richard Jerome Goodwin and Elizabeth Thedford Waters, she moved to Alaska in 1957 with a letter of introduction to a stranger, a twinkle in her eye and a mission on her mind. In 1961, Cynthia’s friend and roommate took her on the train to Talkeetna where she met Barney Toohey at the Fairview Inn. Barney was an Iowa farmboy who came to Alaska looking for adventure in the north. The couple married in 1961 and honeymooned in Seldovia, falling in love with fishing and remaining there until the 1964 earthquake hit. From there, they sought higher ground as they moved from town to town while Barney worked constructing docks, highways and buildings across the fledgling state, landing them in Kodiak, Trappers Creek, and eventually, Anchorage. In 1969, the couple moved to Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood with three small children and began a pioneer life without running water, electricity or road access in the wintertime. Over the years they worked to restore the mine’s historic buildings constructed originally in 1898. Her diverse professions included as a stewardess with Reeve Aleutian Airlines flying in DC-3’s to the most western islands of the state, as an emergency room nurse at Alaska Regional Hospital and as a tech medic on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. But Cynthia’s favorite job was always being a small business owner of the mine, where she was legendary for telling visitors, “yes we mine gold here, but we mainly mine the tourists.” Toohey was passionate about public service and served on the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Alaska Regional Hospital Community Advisory Board. From 1993-97, she served in the Alaska State House of Representatives, and over the course of four years, was responsible for the passage of eight bills, including an anti-stalking law, for which she was most proud. Cynthia was an avid volunteer who worked with victims of domestic violence, rocked babies in the neonatal care unit and volunteered at health fairs. As a breast cancer survivor, she worked to give strength to others whenever she could. Over the course of her life, Cynthia left her mark on Alaskans across the state and beyond. To a person they would describe her as, “someone who exemplified the spirit of Alaska,” “a lioness force not to be trifled
Photo Courtesy Toohey Family
with,” “a lively and colorful person who was tough as nails and unapologetic about it,” “she was one of a kind,” and “a dynamite person who did a lot of good and left the world a better place than she found it.” In 1982, she and her family’s lifestyle at Crow Creek Mine were featured on Good Morning America. She had a cameo role as a White House receptionist in the 2012 Disney movie “Big Miracle” and was featured in Dave Barry’s nationally syndicated column after his visit to Alaska in 1988. Those who knew Cynthia, or Cindy (or Cinny, as she was also called), would not be surprised that, as she was an avid gardener responsible for the many flower beds dispersed around the mine, she asked that her ashes be scattered among them. The family is planning a celebration of life later this year. The family also asks that memorials be made to the Providence Hospice of Anchorage or the Anchorage Pioneer Home. Cynthia is survived by her sister Liz Albertson-Vassar, her three children Camden, Sean and Kate and their children, Connor, Callum, Lilly, Olivia, Lola, Levi and Sophie.
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Spring 2021 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
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