Statehood lobbyist, territorial governor
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A man who lobbied congressional members for Alaska statehood and served as one of the state’s last territorial governors has died.
Mike Stepovich died early Friday in a San Diego hospital at the age of 94, said his daughter, Antonia Stepovich Gore.
“Our hearts are full,” she said.
She said the three things that were most important to him were “family, faith and Alaska, and that could be in any order on any given day.”
“He had a very long life, full of achievements and accomplishments,” she said.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell on Friday ordered state flags lowered in Stepovich’s honor.
A moment of silence also was held on the floor of the Alaska House on Friday.
Stepovich was born in 1919 in Fairbanks. He received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame.
When Alaska was lobbying for statehood, he traveled extensively throughout the contiguous United States to build grass-roots support for it to become the 49th state.
Stepovich then went to Washington, D.C., ahead of floor votes in the U.S. House and Senate to admit Alaska to the union. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Bartlett, D-Alaska, called Stepovich “the most effective lobbyist for statehood,” according to Gore.
A well-known, July 1, 1958, photograph by The Associated Press shows Stepovich standing between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Interior Secretary Frederick Seaton. Stepovich is flashing a broad smile and holding a newspaper with a banner headline, “WE’RE IN.”
Survivors include 13 children and their families. His wife, former Alaska first lady Matilda Stepovich, died Nov. 25, 2003.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 02/16/2014