Linda M. Hensley
Longtime Sitka resident Linda M. Hensley died of natural causes on Dec. 11, 2008, at her home. She was 60.
Born Aug. 6, 1948, at what was then known as St. Ann's Hospital, she was raised in Juneau. During her life, she lived in Juneau, Sitka, Hoonah and Pelican, making Sitka her final home and moving there for the last time in the 1990s.
She had her only child, Paul William Nott Jr., by her first husband Paul William Nott Sr., and she later met and married Adolph "Dolph" Hensley. They lived in Juneau and Sitka up until a few years ago.
A Sealaska Shareholder and a member of the Sitka Tribes, she purse seined for a number of years on her father Jumbo's boat, the Yankee, and was a bartender in a number of communities in Southeast Alaska. She also was well known for her intricate beadwork, her family said.
Family and friends remember he as being a people magnet.
"She literally lit up a room with a smile that touched your heart whenever she walked in," they said. "Linda was loved, admired and respected-by all who knew her."
She was preceded in death by her mother, Frieda Katherine (Thomas) Dedrick; step-father, Lloyd Marshall Dedrick; and father, Wilbur Willis "Jumbo" James Sr., of the Chookaneidi' Clan in Hoonah.
She is survived by her son, Paul William Nott Jr., of Wasilla; adopted mother, Ruth (Fawcett) James, of the T'aakdentaan Clan of Hoonah; sisters, Doreen Westom, of Seattle, Wash., Lilly A. James, of Hoonah, Mary Suzi Katasse, of Juneau, Deborah Lewis, of Juneau, Joanne Nott, of Wasilla, Teri Winge, of Juneau, and Toni Allred, of Juneau; brothers, Wilbur W. "Jumbo" James Jr., of Juneau, and Thomas K. James, of Hoonah; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends, who were all her sweethearts and honeys.
At her request, she was cremated. Memorial services and celebration of life will be held in Sitka on Jan. 24, and in Juneau on Jan. 31.
To contact the family, write to Tres Lewis, 227 Seventh St., Juneau, AK 99801, or call 586-3303.