Stephen Haycox

Aug 8, 2025

Stephen Walter Haycox, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Alaska Anchorage, died Aug. 8, 2025, in Seattle, Wash., while blackberry picking with his wife, Dagmar. His death was instant.

He died a happy man. Weeks before, he cut trees with his neighbor. He navigated the Alaska Highway in his new truck, and the day before he died he danced with his wife in Seattle's Pioneer Square. He believed that life should be lived to the fullest until the end. "Our life is expanding", he said, "not contracting."

Steve was born in 1940 in Fort Wayne, Ind. He liked to say, "Moving to New Jersey for high school gave me all the suave and sophistication you see before you."

He joined the U.S. Navy as a bandsman playing trombone. Music stayed with him all his life, playing guitar for his wife when she couldn't sleep and for his family on Christmas and other special occasions.

After finishing his doctorate in 1970, Steve joined the faculty of Anchorage Community College. He helped form the first version of the University of Alaska Anchorage. From that beginning, for more than 40 years he led the development of UAA teaching, scholarship and community service in historical study with emphasis on American history, the history of the American West, and above all, Alaska. This work culminated in the award of the Edith Bullock Prize and an appointment to the rank of Distinguished Professor. His capstone works were two books, "Alaska: An American Colony" and "Battleground Alaska: Fighting Federal Power in America's Last Wilderness."

Alaskans looked to Steve to help understand their state. He was a one-person clearinghouse for scholars, reporters and, more lately, bloggers seeking plain facts or interpretations of disputed facts about Alaska history. He regularly fielded inquiries from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge faculty along with the New York Times, Washington Post and the Anchorage Daily News.

Steve was a model DIY man, a builder and repairer of houses and machines. His mind was a fountain of detail. He was a good listener, a witty conversationalist and just plain good company. He was a serious man, generous with his time and a supporter of new and old colleagues. Outside the university many remember his friendly encouragement and his carefully considered public commentary. Above all, he was a measured optimist. As a former colleague stated, "He could only be stopped by death."

Steve had plans for a new book and several articles in mind for the Anchorage Daily News. He would have been a speaker in September at the Alaska Historical Society meeting in Fairbanks. His death is very unreal too everyone who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Dagmar Phillips; two children, Mary and Paul; stepson, Robin; two grandchildren, Devon and Rachel; and two great-grandchildren, Ben and Cedar. His son, Peter; and stepdaughter, Alexandra, pre-deceased him. Steve leaves behind family, friends, scholars and a legion of students who will remember him.

His funeral service will be held on his 86th birthday, July 19, 2026, at the downtown cemetery with a celebration of life afterwards.