Justin Patsy

Justin Patsy was born in 1926 to Leena and Charlie Wholecheese in Old Louden, Alaska, 13 miles up river from Galena, Alaska. When he was still a baby, he was adopted by Jack and Elizabeth Patsy. He grew up on the Koyukuk River hunting and trapping with his family until he was 12. They predominantly trapped on the Dulbi River and fished on the Yukon River, four miles above Nulato. His mother fell ill when he was 12, so he spent most of his teen years around Nulato to be near her. Justin completed four years of school, two in Nulato at the mission and two years at the Holy Cross Mission School in Holy Cross, Alask. aOn January 23, 1951, Justin married Maryanna Agnes of Nulato, and together they raised eleven children, 4 boys and 7 girls. To support the family, Justin trapped in the winter in the Kaiyuh flats (now within the Northern Innoko National Wildlife Refuge) and worked seasonal jobs in the summer. Some of those jobs included: six seasons working for canneries in Dillingham and Pederson Point; over thirty years fighting wildfires in Alaska and the Lower 48; and for many years commercial fishing four miles above Nulato. He also served four years in the National Guard from 1958-1962. As an elder, Justin spent time in Nulato with his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Justin Patsy passed away in 2014, just before his 88th birthday.