Ruth Wavichuk Nilsson, “Qiaviar,” passed on November 19, 2023 at her daughter’s home in Anchorage, Alaska. She was born March 29, 1950 near Kwethluk, Alaska to “Tan’gurraq” Alfred Nicolai and “Qessailnguq” Balassia (Toguyak) Nicolai. Ruth grew up in a family of 4 older sisters and mother – her father having passed when she was a small child. Growing up in Kwethluk, she learned at a young age how to work hard, along with her sisters, using a dog team to haul water, gather firewood and subsistence fish.
After completing high-school at the Chemawa Indian School near Salem, Ore., Ruth lived and worked briefly in the Seattle area before returning to Alaska and Kwethluk to live with her aging mother. She married briefly and had a daughter, Joy. Later, after moving to Bethel, she had a son, Joshua.
While single handedly raising her two children, Ruth worked for the Kuskokwim Campus – UAF, Herman’s Air, Alaska Commercial Company and lastly, the Alaska Court System where she clerked for the Bethel Court.
She often worked two jobs, getting off her day job and then going directly to the AC store to work checkout until the store closed in the evening. She transferred with the Alaska Court System to Anchorage where she later retired.
Fishing remained one of Ruth’s biggest joys throughout her life whether it was ice fishing on the Kuskokwim River at Bethel, gillnetting subsistence salmon or rod and reel fishing up the Kwethluk River.
Ruth made friends easily and it was in her nature to invite friends and new acquaintances to her house to eat dinner and share holiday meals. She loved getting people together and when she told you to come and eat, you soon saw Ruth in her element – sharing, laughing, teasing, caring. She was an outgoing helpful individual and a strong proud supporter of her daughter and son. She loved having her grandchildren visit and making their favorite foods for them.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Katherine Epchook, Elizabeth Paul, and Sarah Ferrell. She is survived by her daughter Joy Nilsson-Green (Erin); son, Joshua Nicolai; sister Anna Jacobson (Steven); grandchildren, Levi Tritt, Colten Chase, Kenley Nicolai, Isaiah Williams and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Burial was in the cemetery at Kwethluk.
