Myrtle McCallum

Jun 22, 1942 -

Jul 21, 2023

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and friend to many, Myrtle McCallum.

She was born on June 22, 1942, in King Cove, Alaska. She married Don McCallum Sr. in April 1970 and settled in King Cove, where she also raised her three children: Myrna McCallum, Meryle Hayter and Don McCallum Jr. She and her husband moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in their later years, but continued to travel to King Cove for the summers via the Tustumena, where she worked on her prized smoked salmon, subsistence living and keeping tabs on the local bears.

Myrtle spent most of her time making sure everyone in her family was provided for. Her door was always open to anyone with a fresh meal waiting if someone needed it. Her holiday gatherings with family and time spent at local community functions cooking will be greatly missed. She enjoyed playing card/dice games with family and friends, doing puzzles and watching older sitcoms on TV.

Myrtle graduated Mt. Edgcumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska, attended beauty college and then worked in dental assisting for the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. She traveled to many communities in the early stages of ANMC setting up dental clinics and assisting.

She is survived by her three children, Myrna McCallum, Meryle Hayter (Chuck Hayter) and Don McCallum Jr.; grandchildren, Mikayla McCallum and Mariah McCallum; brothers, Stanley, Glenn, Marvin, Barney and Earl; and far too many nieces and nephews to name. She loved them all.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Donald V. McCallum in 2014; father, Paul Mack; mother, Fanny Mack (Ferguson); sisters, Annie, Fanny, Pauline and Mattie; and brothers, Eddie, Carl, John, Paul, Richard, Rudy, Earnest and Leonard.

Services are to be held on Sunday, June 30, 2023, at 2 p.m., at Legacy Kehls Chapel, 11621 Old Seward Highway in Anchorage.