Obituary - Tessie Isabelle Williams-Stevenson

Tuesday, December 12, 2006
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Hoonah resident Tessie Isabelle Williams-Stevenson, 26, died Dec. 9, 2006, in Hoonah.

She was born Oct. 13, 1980, in Mount Edgecumbe, Alaska.

A service will be at 3 p.m. today at the Tlingit and Haida Community Council. Services in Hoonah are pending. A full obituary will follow at a later date.

Update 1:45 p.m., 12 December 2006: Williams funeral services set for later today.
Funeral services for Tessie Williams, 26, are being held at 3 p.m. today at the Tlingit and Haida Community Building in Juneau.

Williams died in a mobile home fire early Saturday morning in Hoonah. Police believe the fire was caused by a faulty furnace.

Service organizers said that they are not aware that any memorial fund has been established in honor of Williams, but family members have been taking donations.

The building is located at 3235 Hospital Drive. For more information, call 463-5680.

Sunday, December 17, 2006
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Tessie Isabelle Williams-Stevenson

Hoonah resident Tessie Isabelle Williams-Stevenson died Dec. 9, 2006. She was 26.

She was born Oct. 13, 1980, in Mount Edgecumbe. Her Orthodox Church name was Catherine, and her Tlingit name was Gaa yee Gaa Tlaa. She was Raven, T'akdeint‡an of the Snail House, child of Kaagwaantaan.

She enjoyed drawing, making latch hook rugs and key rings, berry picking and going hunting and fishing. She graduated from Hoonah High School and was a tribal member of Tlingit and Haida Central Council, tribal member of Hoonah Indian Association, shareholder of Sealaska and Huna Totem Corporations, member of Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 12 and Mt. Fairweather dance group. She had various labor jobs and most recently worked for the Icy Straits Co., last summer.

She is survived by her husband, Fred Stevenson; mother, Jerry Henry; step father, Ray Henry; father, Leroy Williams; grandparents, William and Genevieve Cook Jr., Ernest and Lillian Hillman, Jr., Fred and Nora Bennett; great grandfathers Harvey and Richard Marvin Sr.; sisters, Christine and Frances Williams, and Gayle, Karoline and Sophie Henry; brothers, Zack Williams and Chris Holland; aunts, Mary Cook, Veronica Dalton, Valerie Hillman, Yvonne Gilda and Violet James; uncles, William Cook III, John and Nick Marvin, John and Ernie Hillman III, Glen, Keith and Pedro Johnson and Wilburt Pratt; and numerous great-aunts, great-uncles and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Frances and Roy Williams; great-grandmothers, Mary Wilson and Alice Hillman; great-grandfathers, Nick Marvin and William Cook Sr.; uncles, Wilfred, Alan, Leslie, Tyrone and Victor Johnson and George Obert Jr.; and sister, Mary Frances Williams.

Services will be held at 7 p.m. Monday and in the afternoon Tuesday in Hoonah.