Earl Wineck Obituary

Earl Wineck
June 23, 1927 - August 20, 2024
Earl Wineck died on August 20, 2024, at Providence Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska. He had severe kidney disease and had been on dialysis for over 2 years. He was 97 years old. He was born in 1927 in upper Michigan in the town of Paavola. His grandparents all came from Finland, and everyone in his family is of Finnish descent.
Earl's grandfather Uldrich Winnikka first came to Alaska in 1899 for the Klondike and Nome for the gold rush. Unfortunately, he did not find gold and he returned to Michigan to his family. The family name Winnikka was changed to Wineck.
Earl's father Ed Wineck and his younger brother Walter came to Alaska in 1919. They supervised and built a marine way for a cannery in Bristol Bay and did other construction work. Ed returned to Michigan and married Earl's mother Emma in 1926. Earl was then born in 1927, and his brother Ray was born in 1929.
Earl's father Ed, and his brother returned to Alaska in 1934. They found work throughout Alaska and ended up helping construct homes, barns and buildings at the new Matanuska colony in the Palmer area under President Roosevelt's "New Deal" during the Great Depression. One of the original 203 colonist families left to go back home, and Ed Wineck became the first replacement colonist. He obtained a tract and house in the Bodenburg Butte area, and he sent for his wife and sons. They arrived in February of 1936. They traveled by train from Anchorage to Palmer as there was no road at that time. Earl then grew up on their farm.
Earl joined the Alaska Territorial Guard at age 15 during World War II and was drafted into the army at age 18. He served on the Aleutian Islands until the war ended.
Earl's father continued with the construction jobs for the colony including building many colony barns. He also helped build the new Fort Richardson Military Base. Earl began work as a electrician. He worked on the new military base and in many places throughout Alaska including White Alice and Dewline Projects. He later served as an electrical inspector for the city of Anchorage and taught an electrical apprentice program.
Earl attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and he graduated from Washington State University in 1958. He attended college only to learn about many different subjects.
Earl's father donated the families 1936 Colony barn to the Alaska State Fair grounds in Palmer, Alaska in 1976, where it stands today for the public to tour. There are many items from the old Wineck homestead in the Palmer Visitors Center and the Colony House Museum. Earl visited the fair often, sometimes connecting with colony friends in the barn and often speaking to people about his life on the farm. Earl enjoyed visiting with others, he was a master storyteller and was known for this and his good sense of humor.
Earl traveled the world in those early years, several times. He visited many relatives in Finland and visited all other European countries and other countries including India and Japan. He enjoyed spending a month visiting Australia and New Zealand.
Earl met Rebecca Ollila (a Finnish woman born in Oregon) while traveling in Portland, Oregon. They became friends and married several years later. They also traveled together to many places including Finland where they both have many relatives.
Earl was very involved in his community and has been a member of many clubs and organizations in Alaska. They include: The Pioneers of Alaska, the Palmer Historical Society, the Elks Club, the VFW, the Alaska Veteran's Museum, the local IBEW and the Finnish Club to name a few. Senator Lisa Murkowski's office interviewed him in 2012 and issued a press release (still on her website) where he talks about what he had to do to survive on Aleutians during WWII.
Earl was also a generous man who donated to many charities, organizations, and those in need.
He was preceded in death by his parents Ed and Emma Wineck, his brother and sister-in-law Ray and Mary Wineck, and his niece Suzanne Wineck. He is survived by his wife Rebecca, second cousins in Anchorage, brother and sister Chris Wineck and Denise Wineck Shelton and their families, Jim Korpi and his family, niece Michele McGriff and her family in Arizona and two nephews Vincent Debes living in Arizona with his family, and a Dr. Ed Wineck living in Wisconsin with his family.
A memorial service for Earl is planned for next spring to be held at the Anchorage Finnish Club.