Jane Sutherland Niebergall

Apr 19, 1931 -

Jun 10, 2024

L. Jane Sutherland Niebergall was an enthusiastic Alaskan whose many passions centered on Alaska's native people and life in the bush. She spent her life loving outdoor adventures, teaching and other people. Born in Hollywood, Calif., on April 19, 1931, she passed away peacefully at home in Anchorage, from cancer on June 10, 2024.

Jane came to Alaska in 1965, where she helped design and start the state's Head Start program from Juneau. This marked the beginning of her lifelong love of Alaska, Alaskans and the untamed beauty of the bush. In July 1967, accepting a job with the University of Alaska, she moved to Fairbanks just weeks before the Chena River flood destroyed her new home and much of the city. She also helped create a future master plan for the City of St. Mary's.

In 1969, Jane was accepted at the University of Oregon to pursue a doctoral degree in education. After completing her studies, she returned to Alaska in 1972, and worked for Alaska Methodist University as an administrator and professor in their Department of Education.

Wanting native Alaskans to have an opportunity to receive higher education degrees in a bush setting, Jane taught at Kuskokwim Community College in Bethel. She traveled among several native communities in the Y-K Delta teaching psychology and training teacher aides.

She met and married Hal Niebergall. They fell in love with Aniak and built an island home at the confluence of the Aniak and Kuskokwim rivers.

Jane started a small publishing company, Circumpolar Press, which specialized in producing curriculum materials used by bush teachers to educate rural children using cultural references and lifestyles they recognized. She also opened an educational materials business in Anchorage, the Teacher Store.

During her final years, Jane lived at Chester Park Cooperative in Anchorage. She loved to promote socialization by organizing parties and made many friends there. She also initiated a project to create a Christmas memory tree so that residents could honor loved ones they had lost.

Jane was inducted into the fifth class of the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. There, she was recognized for her outstanding contributions to education in Alaska at the pre-school, primary, secondary and university levels. During her life she lived in Juneau, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Bethel, Aniak, Shageluk, Nome and Kotzebue.

She was predeceased by her mother, Virginia Blanchard; father, Robert Aurand; and her two husbands, Leonard Sutherland and Hal Niebergall.

She is survived by her son, Scott Sutherland (Lisa); daughter, Lisa Bach; grandchildren, Lael Bach, Lauren McCoy (Ed) and Robert Sutherland; great-grandsons, Neko Uriarte and Laine Tucker; and a host of friends and loved ones around the state and nation.

A memorial service will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Anchorage at noon on Aug. 16, 2024. She insisted that any memorial event be followed by a party. Jane always loved parties.