Long time, basically Life Long Anchorage resident…long enough to be a True Alaskan, Claude C. Maney passed away on September 4, 2021 at Providence Hospital. He was 94 years old. Claude was born June 15, 1927 in the Blue Ridge Mtns of North Carolina, in the farm house he grew up in at the head waters of Indian Creek. He worked very hard as a young strong farm boy plowing steep hillsides with horses and a hand guided single plow, growing tobacco and corn mainly. From stories told he was kind of a practical joker as a young boy, who spent a lot of time in the mountains hunting and exploring. He played basketball in high school at Cane River High School. After graduating from high school he joined the US Navy and was off to WWII. He ended up being a Navy Seabee and was stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock-CV19 from 1942 till 1944. After he was honorably discharged from the navy he became employed by a building contractor who told him he had 2 choices, he could either go to Saudi Arabia, or Alaska. Thank God he picked Alaska! He ended up on Fire Island building communication buildings. While working on Fire Island he received a letter from the navy where the address that it was originally sent to, was marked out and someone had wrote on it SOMEWHERE IN ALASKA, and put it back in the mail. The letter was his reinstatement into the Korean War. Claude being the true patriot he was did not throw the letter in the Cook Inlet, and headed off to the Korean War. After the Korean War he was hired by another building contractor who sent him by choice to Naknek, Alaska to help construct their new high school. While there he met 2 very young little boys who always ended up throwing their little glider airplane on the roof of the school, and he was the only one that would get it down for them. They really liked him and introduced him to their mom Elvira (Elli). It was a match made in heaven, and they were married in 1952 in Naknek. They moved to Anchorage in 1953 where they bought a small house on Eagle St. between Northern Lights Blvd. and Fireweed Lane, on the outskirts of Anchorage back then. Claude soon adopted the 2 little boys Marty, and Rodney. Once in Anchorage, Claude soon became employed as a delivery driver for both Matanuska Maid Dairy, and Alaska Potato Co. for short durations, and then finally a permanent job at Matanuska Maid Dairy as an ice cream delivery driver first, and soon switched to a milk delivery driver where he delivered milk to stores for 25 years. He was a staunch Teamster, and ended up the secretary for them during the unions Hay Day years. Then in 1957 their one and only baby girl came along Sheryl, and then a baby boy Duane in 1959. They ended up buying 5 more houses on Eagle St. where they moved into the biggest one, and turned the others into rentals. They also bought a few other rentals in town, and Claude maintained them all by himself. He was known as the true Mr. Fix It. The guy could fix or MacGyver anything. He started building a new home in south Anchorage in 1971, which he basically built all himself, and the family moved into it in 1972. Once he retired at 53 he bought a gillnet commercial fishing boat in Naknek, Bristol Bay where he always wanted to fish with all his brother in-laws. He and his son Duane fished 5 seasons to pay for Duane’s college (Claude was a very smart man 😊). He worked off and on for a few years after his fishing career ended, mainly doing carpentry projects for friends and relatives. Claude was an avid hunter, and sport fisherman. He loved the outdoors of Alaska and spent a lot of time in it. He was very good at both hunting and fishing. He always filled the freezer with wild meat of some sort, trout, and salmon. For decades he went on late season moose hunting trips with a handful of his best friends, where they always brought home several moose. His son Duane called him a moose whisperer because he watched him many times over many years stealth-fully walk right up to bull moose without them knowing he was there. During his late retirement years he spent a lot of his summer flying with a couple of his good ole buddies to remote secret fishing spots where they would always catch an abundance of Salmon, Pike, trout, etc. It was always very entertaining when you got him to start telling his never-ending hunting and fishing stories from back when there was a lot of game, and fish were extremely plentiful. As mentioned above, Claude liked to dabble in real estate, and beside all the rentals he had in Anchorage, he also owned properties on a couple of lakes in the Mat-Su area, as well as a subdivision in Wasilla for many years where Maney Dr. presently intersects with the Parks Hwy. But what Claude was probably known most for was his gardening skills that he learned from his life on the farm in N.C. With the assistance of his wife Elli, he kept an amazing garden along his front yard from the time they moved into their new home in 1972 until this past summer. They ended up with their picture in the newspaper on several occasions due to their gardening skills. But Claude’s best gardening talent was his ability to grow gorgeous big healthy Dahlia’s. He would start over 100 of them in April in his basement and garage. He would give several away every year, but his garden would be filled with them. His daughter Sheryl took over assisting him since Elli passed away in 2010, and has done an amazing job in doing so. And he was also known for his beautiful cross section Cottonwood clocks he would make, that he always gave away and many of you have. He was one of those guys that read a lot and knew a lot about a lot. He was definitely a man full of wisdom. Over the years many friends and family would ask him for his opinion on many things, be it finance, carpentry, hunting, fishing, gardening, you name it. He would usually have an answer or give an opinion. He was a very kind, giving person. When you went to a restaurant with him he would always be the first person grabbing for the bill to pay for everyone’s meal and he would not take no for an answer, and if you tried to grab the bill first he would shake his finger at you and say “You are about ready to pull bag a bloody stump!!!”. And at 90 yrs old Claude and his daughter Sheryl decided to send in a swab of DNA to try and find out if they had ancestry in Ireland. Too Claude’s surprise, and the family, he found out he had 2 more sons living in CA from his young years of being stationed in CA during his Navy career. Luckily and thankfully they were both open to the fact, and have been in constant touch since. Claude was truly a wonderful person, who touched and left his mark on many people’s lives. His humorous and flirtatious personality will be missed by all, along with that crooked grin. Claude is preceded in death by his wife Elli who passed away in 2010, his son Rodney, grandson William, mother Mae, father Charles, sisters Alice, Ethel, Emogene and Pearl, and brothers Oliver and Hunter. He is survived by his daughter Sheryl and sons Marty, Duane, Rod and Lory, and granddaughters Kelly, Robin, Myra, Chris and Verneese, and grandsons Scott and Ken, as well as 17 great grandchildren, and 19 great great grandchildren. At this time due to COVID a memorial service will not be held for Claude, and suggest that everyone have their own private service for him. If COVID settles down within the next year or so we may still put together a Celebration of Life function in memory of him, and invite family and friends. Both the ashes of Claude and Elli are planned to be scattered next spring in a special Alaskan wilderness area that was previously picked by the both of them.