Tribute to Angelia Jurgens Larson

The world grew dimmer on March 20, 2022, when Angelia Jurgens Larson passed away surrounded by family after a sudden illness.

Jane Austen, one of Angie's favorite authors, advised "know your own happiness," and Angie truly embodied that sentiment. Throughout her life, she nurtured her family, friends, and community, fostered her creative side, and lived each day with adventurous gusto, whether backpacking in Europe, fighting forest fires, or raising children.

Angie was born on Sept. 7, 1969, in Havre, Montana, and moved to Wasilla, Alaska, when she was 11 years old. A devoted Wasilla High School Warrior, Angie was president of her high school class and gave one of the class commencement speeches. She graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, in 1991 with a dual degree in art and business. While there, she met her soul mate, Jay Larson, with whom she recently celebrated 25 years of marriage.

The seemingly opposing pursuits of finance and art perfectly captured Angie's left-brain, right-brain passions. While excelling in her career, managing numbers, people, and projects, she also devoted time to painting, landscaping, and cooking. In her work life, Angie's roles consistently expanded to meet her talents. Starting as a Fire Program Specialist at Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in Odessa, Minnesota, she eventually moved to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska, where she worked as a budget analyst and supervised the finances of the Migratory Bird Management Program. In 2016, she became the State Budget Officer of the Alaska Bureau of Land Management, a role she held until her death.

Angie was a magnetic dynamo, and her warrior spirit will live on through her four children, whom she treasured - Madeline, McKinley, Max, and Miles - and her beloved husband, Jay.  She is also survived by her parents, James Jurgens and Marylin Farnsworth, and siblings Stephanie Jurgens and James Jurgens (Halee) as well as nieces and nephews Dylan, Madysen, Easton, Nora, and Boston. Her family and friends will cherish many shared memories of her at sporting events, rock concerts, dinners out, camping trips, parties, and vacations - get-togethers involving Angie were always more fun.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Ft. Benton, Montana. In lieu of flowers, donations in Angie's memory may be made to the Wasilla High School football booster club (Go, Warriors!), where her sons Miles and Max are both team members. Checks can be sent to Wasilla Football League / P.O. Box 870912 / Wasilla, AK 99687, or donations may be made via Venmo to @WasillaFootballLeague.