ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
A revered Tlingit elder’s family says he died in his sleep early Sunday morning at his home in Juneau. Dr. Walter Soboleff was 102. Soboleff’s son, Sasha Soboleff, told Juneau radio station KINY he passed away between 6:40 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. The family has not yet had time to begin making funeral arrangements.
Soboleff, who was born in the village of Killisnoo near Angoon on November 14, 1908, lived through a period of great change for Alaska Natives. He earned a scholarship to go to college in Iowa, and when he finished his schooling he returned to Juneau in 1940.
Soboleff soon became a Presbyterian pastor, at a time when church services were segregated -- but he convinced church leaders to open them up to everyone.
State Sen. Al Kookesh (D-Angoon) said he spoke to Soboleff last week and asked him if he thought about death.
“I preached about heaven all my life,” Soboleff told him, “so I don’t know why I’d be afraid to go there.”
Kookesh's family is related to Soboleff’s, and Kookesh calls him an uncle. He says Soboleff paid for his gown when he graduated from law school, because he couldn't afford one.
Kookesh says Soboleff saw some of the worst of racism in Alaska, but it never made him bitter. He says Soboleff once told him about how he reacted to a Juneau landlord's refusal to rent to him because he was an Alaska Native. Kookesh says Soboleff's reply was, “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I hope you have a nice day.”
Soboleff was known for trying to make the best of worlds. In his later years, he occasionally preached at the Northern Light United Church in his trademark gentle and quiet tone.
“When someone great dies, the Tlingit have a saying: ’A great tree has fallen in the forest,’” Kookesh said. “And that’s exactly what has happened.”
Contact Rhonda McBride at rmcbride@ktuu.com
