Desdia Neva Egan (October 3, 1914 – January 19, 2011) was an American educator who served as the first First Lady of Alaska from the state's creation in 1959 to 1966, and again from 1970 to 1974.[1] Egan was the wife of the state of Alaska's first governor, William Allen Egan, and the mother of former Juneau Mayor and Alaska State Senator Dennis Egan.[2]
Neva Egan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of Alaska | |
| In role January 3, 1959 – December 5, 1966 | |
| Preceded by | Marion Hendrickson (as wife of the acting territorial governor) |
| Succeeded by | Ermalee Hickel |
| In role December 7, 1970 – December 2, 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Diana Miller |
| Succeeded by | Bella Hammond |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Desdia Neva McKittrick October 3, 1914 Wilson, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | January 19, 2011 (aged 96) Juneau, Alaska, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | William Allen Egan |
| Children | Elin Carol Egan (b. and d. ca. 1941) Dennis William Egan (b. 1947, d. 2022) |
Biography
editEarly life
editEgan was born Desdia Neva McKittrick on October 3, 1914, in Wilson, Kansas.[1][3] She was the third of five children born to Joseph Leland McKittrick and Martha Desdia Alderson McKittrick.[1][3] McKittrick worked at her family's grocery store to earn the tuition money to attend Kansas State College.[1] She then transferred to the University of Wyoming, where her aunt was a faculty member, in Laramie, Wyoming.
McKittrick began her career teaching music in a public school in Glenrock, Wyoming, for two years.[1] She was paid a salary of $1,000 USD annually.[1] She moved to the Territory of Alaska from Wyoming in 1937.[2] McKittrick sailed to Alaska on board a steamship called the Teachers Special, which brought teachers to Alaska to work in the territory during the winter.[3] McKittrick moved to Valdez, Alaska, where she became one of just three new teachers hired for the Valdez school district that year[1] for a one-year teaching assignment.[2] She taught fourth through sixth grade, as well as music, in the Valdez public school system.[3]
McKittrick soon met her future husband, William Allen Egan, in Valdez, and the couple married on November 16, 1940.[3] William Egan was also elected to the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives in 1940.[4] William and Neva also operated a small grocery store, the Valdez Supply.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Dunham, Mike (2011-01-21). "Neva Egan, the first of Alaska's first ladies, dies at age 96". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ^ a b c Morrison, Eric (2006-07-02). "Parade grand marshals paved the way, Egan and Williams helped to shape state government, economy". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ a b c d e f "Desdia Neva McKittrick Egan". Ellsworth Independent-Reporter. 2011-01-25. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ "Alaska's former first lady Neva Egan dies". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Associated Press. 2011-01-20. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2011-02-18.