Thelma Catherine Engstrom (née Wait) (September 9, 1905 – February 7, 1957) was a teacher, columnist and legislator in Alaska. Born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, Engstrom graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1926. She taught school in Neppel, Washington and then in Wrangell and

Douglas, Alaska Douglas is a community on Douglas Island in southeastern Alaska, directly across the Gastineau Channel from downtown Juneau. History Douglas Island was originally a border of the Auke people’s and Taku people’s territory. It was not usual ...

. Engstrom was a columnist for in ''Juneau Daily Press'' in

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

. Engstrom served on the Douglas School Board. From 1947 to 1949, Engstrom served in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives. Engstrom died from a brain tumor after emergency surgery at the

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Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. Her husband, Elton Engstrom Sr. was born in

Wrangell, Alaska Wrangell (, ) is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a consolidated city–county ...

, and went to the

. He was in the family fishing business in Wrangell, Alaska and

. He served on the

City Council and as mayor of Douglas in 1943 and 1944. He was the Alaska Territory Republican Party chair in 1945 and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Alaska Territory in 1956. From 1951 to 1954 and 1957–1958, Elton represented the 1st District in the Alaska Territorial Senate. After Alaska became a state, he served in the

Alaska State Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejectin ...

from 1961 until his death in 1963. Engstrom died in a hospital in Juneau, Alaska following a heart attack.'State Senator E. Engstrom Dies At 57,' ''Fairbanks Daily News Miner,'' January 31, 1963, pg. 1, 7 Their son, attorney Elton Engstrom, Jr., served in both the Alaska House and Senate, and his daughter, Cathy Muñoz, served four terms in the Alaska House, representing Juneau, 2009–2017.

Notes

External links

Brief political graveyard bio

American legislative leaders in the West, 1911-1994

Thelma Engstrom
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' 1905 births 1957 deaths Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Juneau, Alaska) Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Neurological disease deaths in Minnesota Educators from Alaska 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators Educators from Washington (state) Journalists from Alaska Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature Politicians from Seattle School board members in Alaska University of Washington alumni Women territorial legislators in Alaska 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women journalists {{Alaska-politician-stub