Walter Lawrence Sertich

b. 18 July 1918, d. 7 October 1988
  • Walter Lawrence Sertich was born on 18 July 1918 in Calumet, Houghton County, Michigan.
  • Jacob Sertich and Anna Dumenich appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan, at 27 County Road recorded as the "Jakobs" family, head of household "Sertizh.". Other members of the household included Walter Lawrence Sertich, Mary M. Sertich, Mark F. Sertich and Emile Sertich.
  • Walter Lawrence Sertich registered for the draft on 12 July 1941 in Alaska while living in Wasilla, and employed there by the Alaska Pacific Consolidated Mining Company. Contact listed was his brother Mark Sertich, also in Wasilla.
    Walter Lawrence Sertich, World War II draft registration
  • Walter Lawrence Sertich died on 7 October 1988 at age 70 in Anchorage, Alaska.
  • He was interred at Fort Richardson National Cemetery, Fort Richardson, Anchorage Borough, Alaska.
  • The following appeared on 10 October 1988 in the Anchorage Daily News: Walter L. Sertich, 70, a former construction worker, died Oct. 7 at Anchorage Pioneer Home. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Evergreen Memorial Chapel, with the Rev. George S. Endal, S.J., officiating, with a visitation today from 6 to 8 p.m. and a rosary at 7 p.m. Mr. Sertich was born July 18, 1918, in Osceola, Mich., and graduated from Mellen High School in Mellen, Wis., in 1937. He moved to Alaska in 1939 and worked as a gold miner for Alaska Pacific Mining Company. From 1942 to 1945 he served in the Marine Corps as a platoon sergeant and tank crewman in the Pacific at the Marshall Islands, Saipan and Tinian of the Mariana Islands, and at Iwo Jima. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Following his military service, Mr. Sertich worked in construction in Alaska and was a member of Carpenters Local 1281 for 40 years before retiring. He built the first cabin in what is now the Abbott Loop Road area. Mr. Sertich was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister. He is survived by his brother, Joseph, of Santa Ana, Calif; his nephews, Mark Jellich, of Anchorage, Jack Jellich, of St. Paul, Minn., Jacob Sertich, of California, and Anton Sertich, of Albuquerque, N.M; and his nieces, Mary Jellich and Anna Crabb, both of Anchorage. Burial will be in the Fort Richardson National Cemetery with full military honors. Arrangements were by Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
  • Last Edited: 3 May 2017