News from Patrick Flynn

By now readers likely know my neighbor, Betti Cuddy, passed away last week.  Publicly known as the matriarch of one of Alaska’s pioneering banking families, I knew her better as the mother of two of my favorite baby sitters.

Indeed, I have many memories of playing in the Cuddy’s back yard, sticking a thumbs-up sign out the window of the family jeep yelling, “right on, man,” (I was coached) and attempting to discern the geometric symbols somehow imprinted in the dining room table by the youngest Cuddy daughter doing her homework.  So when I observed an unusually high number of vehicles  in the driveway of the family home (a couple weeks ago) I queried a family member to learn what was amiss.  The news, while not entirely unexpected, was certainly unwelcome.

As a community Anchorage is blessed with much good fortune.  More than anything, we enjoy the kindness of good people who bestow themselves upon others.  Betti Cuddy was one of those people and her legacy lives on in the person of her family even more than the presence of her family’s park.  We should all strive to achieve so much.

Regards,

Patrick