Women's History Month: Arliss Sturgulewski
- Lynn Lovegreen
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
Happy Women’s History Month! We are fortunate to have many notable women to honor this month. I’m going to use this opportunity to write about an important Alaskan woman I haven’t covered before, Arliss Sturgulewski.
Jane Arliss Wright Sturgulewski grew up in Washington state in the 1920s and 30s. She lost several family members during the Great Depression, and put herself through college, gaining a degree in economics and business. She drove up the Alcan for an Alaska vacation in 1952 and never left. She married “Sturge” Sturgulewski in 1953, and they had a son (Roe) before her husband was killed in a plane crash. She chose to stay in Alaska to raise her son as a single mom.
Sturgulewski joined the League of Women Voters and became active in politics, serving on several commissions before being elected to the Anchorage Assembly, then the Alaska State Senate. She was known as a moderate Republican who supported equal rights and reproductive rights, and she helped inflation-proof the Permanent Fund among other accomplishments. She ran for governor of Alaska in 1986 and 1990. Her TV commercial featuring kids mispronouncing her name then saying “Let’s just call her Governor” was a crowd favorite.
After retiring from politics, Sturgulewski went on to volunteer with many organizations including the Anchorage Library Foundation, Sheldon Jackson College, and the University of Alaska. She enjoyed mentoring young people, especially young women. Arliss Sturgulewski was a genuine people person and a trailblazer for women in politics, and we are grateful for her example of public service.
For more details, see her page on the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame site at https://alaskawomenshalloffame.org/alumnae/arliss-sturgulewski/
Or read this Anchorage Daily News article about her at
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