Flora Joe, Worked For Ahtna At Pump Stations

 

Flora Joe Of Tetlin 

Passed Away December 4th, 2023 

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Janssen’s Mat-Su Funeral Home - Palmer on Dec. 4, 2023. 

My name is Flora Joe, however people know me as Flo Joe. I was born in 1964 in Tanana, Alaska, to the late Patrick Joe Sr. and the late Bernice Joe of Tetlin. I'm a tribal member of the Native Village of Tetlin. I lived in Tetlin with my parents, brothers and sisters until I was 15 years old. 

Then I attended Mt. Edgecombe my freshman year and was an honor student. After my freshman year in High School, I moved to Tok and went to Tok School. I lived with the late Laura Sanford and her family for three years in Tok. I also played basketball for the Tok Wolverines. I graduated from Tok High School in 1983. After that summer, I left Tok and attended the Weber Basin School in Utah for ten months, where I began operating Heavy Equipment. I graduated from Weber Basin School in 1984 and joined Union, Local 302 Operating Engineers as an apprentice operator. I went to other schools out of state to further my career. I went to White Swan, Washington and Billings, Montana to pipeline school. I finished the apprentice program, got to 6,000 hours and then became a journeyman. 

As a journeyman, I worked all over the State of Alaska. Since 2000, I worked for Ahtna. With Ahtna, I spent three years in Valdez and the remaining years at Pump Station 11 and 12, as a baseline heavy equipment operator. Over the 17 years I was with Ahtna, I won awards. I worked for three more years with other contractors, but I finally drew my retirement in December 2020 from Operating Engineers, Local 302.