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Roberta Sheldon

Roberta Sheldon

Roberta Sheldon was born in 1940 to Alaskan pioneering aviator Robert Reeve who founded Reeve Aleutian Airways, and his wife, Janice "Tilly." After graduating from high school in Anchorage, Roberta worked for Reeve Aleutian Airways and traveled the world as a stewardess. In 1964, she married pioneering mountain pilot, Don Sheldon, and moved to Talkeetna to help him operate Talkeetna Air Service. Roberta dearly loved the community of Talkeetna, and worked tirelessly to preserve its small town character. She served on the Talkeetna Community Council, and helped establish the Talkeetna Historical Society, preserve numerous historical structures, and shape land use plans in the area. She also was a historian and writer, contributing articles to Alaska Magazine, and publishing "The Heritage of Talkeetna" and "The Mystery of The Cache Creek Murders," two authoritative books on life in the upper Susitna Valley. Roberta passed away in 2014. For more about Roberta Sheldon, see her obituary in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner newspaper.
Date of Birth:
May 14, 1940
Date of Death:
Jun 4, 2014
Roberta Sheldon appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Roberta Sheldon

Roberta Sheldon was interviewed on February 28, 1992 by Bill Brown at her home in Talkeetna, Alaska. In this interview, Roberta concentrates on her partnership role in running Talkeetna Air Taxi with her husband, Don Sheldon, before his death in 1975. She also discusses the history of the community of Talkeetna and how the area has changed. In the background, you will hear music from a radio as well as birds outside, which gives you a sense of the setting where the interview took place. This interview with Roberta Sheldon is not available on-line. It can only be accessed through the Oral History office at the Elmer Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

 93-02-04 Denali Mountaineering Feb 28, 1992