Judith "Judi" Slajer

Jul 29, 1941 -

Apr 21, 2022

Judith "Judi" Anne Slajer, longtime Alaskan, passed away on April 21, 2022.

A local government pioneer, Judi was respected for her integrity, prudence and practical leadership as she helped establish efficient, effective and transparent financial operations in governments across the state.

As Budget Director under Anchorage Mayor Tony Knowles in the early 1980s, she was at the center of an initiative to reshape Alaska's largest city through ambitious municipal projects like the Performing Arts Center, Sullivan Arena and Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

Born on July 29, 1941, in Grayling, Mich., to parents Horace Gray Sabine and Margaret Veronica Scherer, Judi grew up in Leavenworth, Wash., where her father worked for the U.S. Forest Service and her mother taught at the local school. After her father died suddenly when Judi was 9, the family moved to southern California, where she attended college and met her first husband, Charles Slajer.

The newlyweds moved to Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1962, where Judi began her local government career as the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Clerk, the newly incorporated borough's first employee. After years of service, Judi was promoted to become Alaska's first-ever woman borough manager.

At 38, Judi moved to Fairbanks with her two daughters to finish her degree in business administration at the University of Alaska. Judi met her second husband, longtime Fairbanks resident and fellow UAF graduate Tom Rosadiuk, in 1986, and returned to Fairbanks to teach governance courses in rural Alaska before joining the Fairbanks North Star Borough as chief financial officer, until her 1998 retirement.

Throughout her career, Judi collaborated with her local government colleagues across the state to create important and lasting institutions, including the Alaska Association of Municipal Clerks, the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority, and the Alaska Municipal League Investment Pool.

In retirement, Judi continued to serve on multiple boards including the Alaska Retired Public Employees Association and the Shelter Bay Community board of directors. Although she avoided public accolades, she received the Alaska Municipal League's outstanding contribution award, a coveted national designation as a certified municipal clerk, and was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Southeast remained close to Judi's heart and motivated her and Tom to make their retirement home in Dora Bay, Prince of Wales Island, spending the long summer days fishing. They divided their winter months between La Conner, Wash., and Kona, Hawaii.

Judi is survived by her husband, Tom Rosadiuk; brother, Robert Gray (Kathleen) Sabine; daughters, Veronica Slajer (Jack Ferguson) and Franczeska (Rob) Ostrander; grandchildren, Duncan (Lily), Charlotte and Oscar Ferguson, Sarah, Claire and Robert Ostrander; Tom's sons and grandchildren, David (Barbara) Rosadiuk, Ward (Colleen Mondor) and Stuart Rosadiuk, grandchildren Valerie (Rosadiuk) Swansiger, Felina (Rosadiuk) Kelly, Jack Rosadiuk and Pierce Rosadiuk; and nine great-grandchildren.

In honor of Judi's commitment to effective local governance, donations may be made to the Alaska Municipal League Judith A. Slajer Education Fund, akml.org/about/donate, to provide continuing education opportunities for municipal clerks.