Mary Helen Stephens, age 87, of Valdez, Alaska died on January 28th at home. She was surrounded for days and at her passing by friends, family, music that was close to her heart and shared stories told with love. Mary Helen was born Oct., 4th 1936 in Chanute Army Air Corps Base in Champaign County, IL to Edward Fulton Tinsley (“Skelly”) Skelton and Olga (Homyk) Skelton. She lived most of her childhood in Denver, CO and graduated with a degree in Physical Therapy from UC Boulder.
Her first therapy job was in St. Paul, MN where she met a tall patient named Stan who needed rehab. He and Mary Helen both had dreams of Alaska. From early childhood Mary Helen had a goal of living in the Alaska Territory and was distressed when statehood occurred before she could make the move. She and her mother, Olga, drove up the Alaska Highway in Jan. of 1964 in a VW bug. She arrived months before the Great Alaska Earthquake and then she volunteered her services at medical facilities in the aftermath of the quake.
Mary Helen went to work as a PT in Fairbanks later that year and Stan followed her north. They drove out on the Alaska Highway in late December of 1964 to get married, and their trip back to Fairbanks in the red Dodge pickup is the stuff of legend. The temperature never went above -50 once they crossed the Canadian border and it was an epically cold journey.
Mary Helen and Stan built a log home in North Pole on the banks of the Badger Slough and started their family which included three girls: Carrie, Jenna and Colleen. Mary Helen did physical therapy with disabled children in several venues, followed by a long career as an itinerant physical therapist for the Fairbanks schools. She followed many kids through their school careers, helping them live their best lives and supporting their families.
However, Mary Helen had two careers. Beginning in 1971 she and Stan started a charter boat service in Valdez. By 1978 they had transitioned the business from 6 person charters to daily tours in a dream endeavor called Stan Stephens Charters, which still exists today as Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises. Mary Helen and Stan were early and avid supporters of tourism in Prince William Sound and Alaska.
For several years running, Mary Helen would take her ‘vacation’ on the day after the school year ended, packing the girls into the station wagon and driving to join Stan in Valdez where the family lived on one of the tour boats during the summer. Her other day of ‘vacation’ was spent driving back to Fairbanks the day before school started. Mary Helen and Stan welcomed countless beloved crew members into their family as the business grew. Many past crew members have stated that their lives were changed by their time on board. Mary Helen was the powerhouse mom, crew chief, and organizer. She made bedding for extended cruises, all of the cocoa and RussianTea mix used on board, and headed up everything from cleaning to herding crew.
She will forever be remembered for all-encompassing love of everything Alaska. Mary Helen had an infectious enthusiasm for every animal and sight along the way. Travelers were urged to see each critter and natural wonder. She made the boat captains, including her sometimes exasperated husband, go over to possibly overlooked rafts of otters or amazingly pretty blue icebergs that needed to be circled for a closeup. She delighted in dall porpoises, humpbacks, orcas, eagles, waterfalls, and calving ice today as much as she did on her first boat trip with Stan back in 1965.
One of Mary Helen’s traits was her determination to accomplish whatever she imagined. In 1976 she drove her three daughters 16,000 miles in three months in a station wagon for the Bicentennial year to see America and meet extended family. She had 7 aunts and uncles and so many cousins. The Homyk clan had family reunions that kept them close. She happily traveled around the world with her daughters and husband. She enjoyed Italy, Ireland, African countries, and her family’s Lemko homeland in Poland and Ukraine. Mary Helen also hiked Machu Picchu with her daughter Colleen just months after having a hip replaced.
Her family hopes you will remember her when you drive her beloved Richardson Highway, when you hear a John Denver song or Irish tune, and when you breathe in the intoxicating smell of the bays and waterways of the Sound that she loved so much. Have a caramel or cookie dough or a good cup of chai in her memory. In lieu of flowers donations in her name may be made to Prince William Sound Science Center or ACCA.
Visit maryhelenstephens.com to leave a message and find details of her Celebration of Life.
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