| Lifelong Alaskan Percy Blatchford, 82, died Jan.
12, 2003, at Central Peninsula General Hospital. Blatchford, an
Inupiaq Eskimo, was born Oct. 9, 1920, in Golovin, Alaska, to Jenny
and Charles Blatchford. Raised by his grandmother in the Norton
Sound village of Elim, he spent his youth hunting and fishing until
he was drafted to serve in World War II.
World War II Veteran, amateur boxer, Navy Seal, Air Force rescue
paramedic, subsistence hunter and father of four are some of his
lifelong accomplishments. He served 30 years in the military with
the distinction of being Alaska’s military heavyweight champion
from 1944 to 1946. In 1944, he survived four rounds with Joe Lewis
in an exhibition military fight while stationed in Adak. While at
Adak, he helped capture a Japanese minisub and later trained as
a member of an Air Force rescue squadron in the jungles of Panama
during the Vietnam War.
After retiring from the military, Blatchford worked for the state
as a heavy equipment operator and enjoyed subsistence hunting and
fishing in Cook Inlet. Blatchford never forgot his roots. He was
known to be generous and happily shared his successes with his family
and friends.
He is survived by his children, Johnny Blatchford, Barbara Blatchford,
Joel Blatchford and Lance Blatchford; brother and sisters, Bernice
Greiner, Joe Blatchford, Violet “Vi” Mack, Rose Albrightson,
Alan Blatchford and Gladys Armstrong; numerous grandchildren and
many other family members.
|
