[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE LIFE OF ELLEN PANEOK

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I wish today to honor the life 
of Ellen Paneok, who left us last Sunday, March 2, at the age of 48. So 
little time on this Earth, but Ellen made so much of it. The State of 
Alaska is much the better for all that she has accomplished.
  How to characterize Ellen? I could speak of her work for Big Brothers 
and Big Sisters of Southcentral Alaska. Or her work to promote aviation 
safety at the FAA and as a volunteer in the general aviation community.
  I could speak of the inspiring articles she has published. I could 
tell you that Ellen was a highly respected Inupiat artist working in 
ivory and scrimshaw.
  I could speak of that fact that Ellen offered herself freely as a 
role model for Native young people.
  I could speak to the kindness and loyalty she gave to her friends, 
including Pat Heller, a very special friend of Ellen's and mine. 
Ellen's friends returned that kindness and loyalty as they took 
responsibility for Ellen's care in her final days.
  And I could speak of the fact that Ellen was one of the first women--
not to mention one of the first Alaska Native women--to pursue the 
career of Alaska bush pilot. Careers just don't get more adventurous 
than that. And it was her achievements in the field of aviation that 
earned Ellen a place in our Nation's history.
  Ellen started flying in 1976. She flew primarily out of Barrow 
carrying mail and supplies to the Native villages of northern Alaska.
  Her life story was chronicled in the ``Women in Flight'' exhibit at 
the National Air and Space Museum in the nineties. Ellen was one of 37 
women in aviation who were part of that exhibit.
  On September 11, 1997, she delighted museum goers with stories about 
chasing polar bears off the runway before she could land, flying in 
Alaska's extreme weather conditions and restoring airplanes.
  Some of her experiences were delightful, others were not. Like July 
10, 1980, the day that the engine in Ellen's Piper Twin Pacer quit 
somewhere between Farewell and McGrath. The plane fell like a brick and 
crashed into a stand of trees. A day and a half later, after making a 
smoke fire from brush and engine oil to call attention to the downed 
aircraft, she was rescued.
  That incident gave Ellen a new nickname, ``the survivor.'' The 
chapter devoted to Ellen in Sandi Sumner's book ``Women Pilots of 
Alaska'' is entitled ``The Survivor.'' But it goes on to note that 
surviving the July 1980 crash in the Alaska bush was one of many crises 
in Ellen's life from which she grew and thrived.
  Ellen was born in Kotzebue, AK, a relatively large community, in 
Alaska's bush. Ellen's parents divorced when she was age 5. Her father 
left the picture following the divorce. Her mother was never around. 
The family moved from Kotzebue to the big city of Anchorage.
  Ellen took on the role of mother to her two sisters at the age of 9 
and carried on until the age of 12 when the State moved the children 
into foster homes, splitting the family up to Ellen's protestations. By 
14 Ellen was living in a detention facility. She looked at a magazine 
with airplanes on the cover and said, ``This is going to change my 
life.''
  Indeed, it did. At age 16, holding a dividend check from Cook Inlet 
Region, one of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act regional 
corporations created by Congress, Ellen went to Merrill Field, the 
general aviation aircraft in Anchorage, to take flying lessons. The 
rest is history.
  When Ellen spoke to groups of at-risk kids, she could relate from her 
personal experience. She told them:

       I was just like you. I got no encouragement. When you 
     decide to do something don't let anyone or anything 
     discourage you. It's up to you.

  In aviation as in life, attitude influences altitude. With an 
attitude like this it is no wonder that Ellen will be remembered as a 
``heroine in aviation.'' That was the name of an exhibit sponsored by 
the Chicago Airport System which also chronicled Ellen's extraordinary 
life adventure.
  On March 15, a celebration of Ellen's life will take place at the 
Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum in Anchorage. I regret that I will not 
be able to attend this event to commemorate the achievements of this 
truly Renaissance woman. So I am taking a few minutes of the Senate's 
time today to pay tribute to this individual who I so deeply respect.
  I thank the Senate for allowing me to take a few moments today to 
speak of Ellen Paneok, one of many Alaskans whose contributions to the 
making of my home State will be repeated again and again in the run-up 
to the 50th anniversary of Alaska's statehood next January.
  Sadly, Ellen will not be with us in person to celebrate that 50th 
anniversary, yet her inspiring life will not be forgotten. It is 
forever a part of Alaska's history.

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