[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 694]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING WALTER L. KUBLEY, SR.

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I honor Walter L. Kubley, 
Sr. On December 14, 2010, Alaska lost this shining star who truly 
possessed the legendary ``Pioneer Alaskan Spirit.'' Walter, who we 
called Wally, served Alaska in a long diverse career that ranged from 
work at the Ketchikan Volunteer Fire Department to the Alaskan 
Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When Wally was 
Commissioner of Commerce under Governor Keith Miller, he worked 
alongside his good friend and Commissioner of Revenue, George Morrison, 
and took revenues generated from the first oil lease sale in Prudhoe 
Bay and invested it to create the seeds of what is now known as the 
``Permanent Fund.'' This fund evolved and allowed the citizens of our 
State to share in the bounty of our natural resources. Wally also made 
an indelible mark on the infrastructure and transportation system of 
Alaska. His tireless efforts as one of the authors of the legislation 
that created the Alaska Marine Highway System have continued to act as 
the integral yarn of the socioeconomic fabric of southeast Alaska. I 
myself have spent many hours on the beautiful ``roads'' that can be 
attributed to this caring man. As the ``Father of the Alaskan Highway 
System,'' Wally often talked of bringing his family along on the maiden 
voyage of the M/V Malaspina mainline ferry from Seattle to Ketchikan 
that launched in 1963. Wally also served in the State legislature with 
Senator Ted Stevens, who he remained close with until his death and 
served as an honorary pallbearer along with Representative Don Young. 
Whether his title was as an Alaskan House Representative, Commissioner 
of Commerce, or Commissioner of Transportation, his lone goal was to 
help his region, his State, and its people.
  Wally was born and raised in Ketchikan in 1921 as the third 
generation of his family in Alaska. After graduating from high school, 
he studied at Whitman College but withdrew from school and joined the 
U.S. Coast Guard after the tragic events at Pearl Harbor. With his 
extraordinary childhood knowledge of the Alaskan coast, he served as 
captain of a submarine chaser out of Prince Rupert on the lookout for 
enemy submarines in the waters of southeast Alaska. After the war, he 
married his beautiful fiancee and the love of his life, Fern, who 
served as Mrs. Alaska in 1962. They spent 60 wonderful years of 
marriage together. At a young age, Wally left a cultural mark in the 
community as he built the world famous Sourdough Bar, the first bowling 
alley in Ketchikan, the Billiken Bowl, and the Sportsman Bar and Cafe 
in Ward Cove. Wally's grandson, Wally Jr., is now the owner of the 
Sourdough Bar and has continued the traditional weekly coffee forum 
held every Thursday morning up until his passing.
  As the patriarch of a sixth generation Ketchikan family, Wally will 
be missed deeply by his loving family and all those who have known his 
caring nature. Wally's grandfather came to Alaska during the Gold Rush 
and after a few years prospecting in Hyder moved to Ketchikan in 1904 
and set his family's roots. Wally owned a cabin built with hand hewn 
yellow cedar at Mirror Lake in the Misty Fjords. This later became the 
Mirror Lake Sportsman's Club where Wally enjoyed relaxing times fishing 
with his children, grandchildren, and friends. He was never without a 
smile and his own brand of creative thoughtfulness always shined 
bright. He is survived by his sons Don and Larry, daughter Kaaren, and 
his grandchildren.
  Wally and I shared a common birthplace in Ketchikan and a love for 
our homeland of Alaska. Without the work that he has done, the state of 
Alaska would be a different place. I can easily say that Wally helped 
create the Alaska that future generations will happily inherit. He was 
the driving force for many Alaskan traditions and we owe him immense 
gratitude. May he rest in peace.

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