Kenneth Taylor Hubbard

Oct 15, 1925 -

May 28, 2020

Kenneth Taylor Hubbard, longtime Alaska resident and pioneer, died on May 28, 2020, in Anchorage, Alaska. He was 94.

Ken was born in Central, Ariz., on Oct. 15, 1925, to Emery B. and Audrey Taylor Hubbard. Upon graduating from high school, he entered the Army, 86th Infantry Blackhawks, near the end of World War II. As a Blackhawk, Ken saw rough combat, mopping up after the Battle of the Bulge. Ken was wounded by sniper fire when his unit was pinned down in a building in Germany, earning him a Purple Heart.

In the early 1950s, Ken traveled the Alaska Highway for the first time in search of adventure. He met elementary school teacher Margaret "Peg" Bailey at an Anchorage square dance in 1954. They were married in September 1955, and Ken took on the raising of her son, Allen M. Bailey, from her first marriage.

On March 27, 1964, as Ken drove from Anchorage to Soldotna, where he owned his own building business, The Y Supply, the great earthquake hit. Twenty-two bridges collapsed between Anchorage and Soldotna, stranding Ken for three days at a highway maintenance station near Summit, leaving his family wondering if he was still alive.

In 1978, Ken and Peg separated and later divorced. Ken soon met Alma Joyce Lilly, and they married in March 1981. He moved to Palmer and commuted to work in Anchorage until his retirement in the 1990s. Ken's stepdaughter Barbara Lilly McGee devoted herself to his care during the last years of his life, enabling him to age in comfort at home.

Ken was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce; his parents; and his brothers, Emery "Mac," Raymond "Rex," Joseph "Morgan" and Virgil Gilmer; and sister, Erma Charlene Paxton. Also preceding Ken in death was his young grandson, Shawn Orr.

He is survived by daughters, Heidi (Charles "Chuck") Smithson and Laurie (Bruce) Hendricks; stepson, Allen M. (Marilyn) Bailey; and stepdaughter, Barbara McGee. Also mourning his loss are grandchildren, Stephanie Smithson Johnson, Rachel Smithson, Rory Cameron Hendricks and Joshua Orr; as well as great-grandchildren, Jesse, Alex and Isabella McGee; and 22 nieces and nephews.

A special memorial will be held for Ken this summer when people may gather more freely. A burial with military honors at the National Cemetery on Fort Richardson will be on Thursday, July 29, 2021, at 2:30 p.m.