Patricia Roppel
Patricia Ann Roppel (April 5, 1938 – January 6, 2015) was an American historian, writer and educator. Roppel specialized in the history of Southeast Alaska, publishing thirteen books and more than 100 articles during her career.[1] Much of her work focused on the people and locations of that particular region, as well as the state's major industries, including mining, salmon fishing and hatcheries, and canning.[1] She was named "Alaska Historian of the Year" in both 1978 and 2006 in recognition of books released during those years.[1]
Roppel was born Patricia Snowden on April 5, 1938, in Ellensburg, Washington, to Richard and Helen Snowden.[2] She received a degree in home economics from Oregon State University.[2] Roppel moved from Washington to Alaska in 1959.[1] She originally worked as a home economics teacher at Ketchikan High School in Ketchikan, Alaska, from 1959 to 1965.[1][2] Roppel published her first article in 1965.[1]
Alaska Governor Jay Hammond appointed Roppel to the new Alaska Historical Commission in 1975.[2] The Commission oversaw the creation of a new high school textbook on the history of Alaska and advised state lawmakers on related issues.[2] She was reappointed for three terms on the Commission from 1975 until 1983.[2] In 1991, Governor Wally Hickel appointed Roppel to the Alaska Humanities Forum, a position she held until 1996.[2] She was reappointed to the Alaska Historical Commission in 2003 by Governor Tony Knowles.[2] She remained on the Commission until her death in 2015, including a tenure as Vice-Chair of the Commission from 2006 to 2008.[2]
Roppel and her husband originally lived in Ketchikan, Alaska.[2] They moved to Sitka, Alaska, in 1983, and to Wrangell, Alaska, in 1992.[1][2] Patricia Roppel died from cancer in Bellevue, Washington, on January 6, 2015, at the age of 76. She was survived by her husband of fifty-five years, Frank Roppel, and their two children, John and Cindy.[1]
Selected works
- (1978) Southeast, Alaska's panhandle
- (1979) Sex in a bucket versus sex in a stream bed, or, Salmon hatchery programs in Alaska's past
- (1982) Alaska's salmon hatcheries, 1891–1959
- (1983) Southeast Alaska : a pictorial history
- (1986) Salmon from Kodiak : an history of the salmon fishery of Kodiak Island, Alaska
- (1991) Fortunes from the earth : an history of the base and industrial minerals of southeast Alaska
- (1995) An historical guide to Revillagigedo and Gravina Islands, Alaska
- (1996) Index of Alaska obituaries from various sources with a supplement of obituaries from sources in the Ketchikan area collected by Patricia Roppel [1899–1995]
- (1998) Land of mists : Revillagigedo & Gravina Islands, Misty Fiords National Monument, Alaska
- (1999) "Where can I buy one of these?" : a history of Ketchikan, Alaska's business community
- (1000) Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness, Alaska
- (2004) The steamer Albatross and early Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp., research in Alaska
- (2005) Striking it rich! : gold mining in southern Southeast Alaska