Alan Haskins Memory Wall by CHARITY MOORE

It was Spring 1999 when I first became acquainted with Alan Haskins. My brother, Kevin, was an administrator at Hamilton (MT) High School and I reached out to him to see if would keep his ear to the ground about any teachers looking for an “Alaska Adventure.” Somehow I got connected with Alan and his buddy, Rex Weltz, and, as they say, “the rest is history.”

When Alan’s family arrived in Unalaska with Laura and their three amazing kids, Kyle, Ryan and Charity, I knew I had to get to know these young parents and learn their secrets to raising such polite and respectful children! Alan became my go-to source for parenting advice, especially when it came to the unique challenges of raising boys!

Alan was the consummate outdoorsman. He instilled in his kids his enthusiasm for hunting, fishing and being in the outdoors. I was fortunate to have shared one memorable adventure with Alan and his father many years ago. Together, we chartered the Miss Peppers out of Dutch Harbor to fish for halibut. It was an uncommonly hot summer day as our charter captain took us around Eider Point to what our skipper described as some promising halibut holes. Unfortunately, before we ever wetted a line, the Miss Peppers broke down and we had to be towed back toward town by another charter boat. We were met by the harbor master’s boat a few miles from town, where they would take over towing us in the rest of the way. In the few minutes we were stopped to switch the tow ropes, Alan dropped his line in the water and caught a monster halibut! Thanks to Alan, we had at least one nice halibut to show for the 8-hour boat ride and really bad sunburns!

I have many fond memories of Alan, but what I remember most are those many mornings standing in the Unalaska high school foyer greeting students at the start of a school day. Alan, Jim Wilson, Chris Border and a revolving assortment of teachers, staff and students would visit about a variety of topics ranging from the mundane to history-making. During these 15-minute gatherings, Alan would always have the most profound, philosophical and humorous contributions, especially when a student would walk over and ask him, “hey, Mr. Haskins, what are we doing in class today?” Well, you can only imagine how much fun Alan would have answering that student!

To Laura, Kyle, Ryan and Charity and all of your extended families, please know that Mayumi, Brian, Sean and I share in your grief during this difficult time. We hope that you know how much we admired and respected Alan. His memory will live on as a positive influence in the hundreds of lives that he so profoundly touched, including ours.

With deep sympathy,

John Conwell

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