Desdia Neva Egan (October 3, 1914 – January 19, 2011) was an American educator who served as the first First Lady of Alaska from the state's creation in 1959 to 1966, and again from 1970 to 1974. Egan was the wife of the state of Alaska's first governor,

William Allen Egan William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. Senator from Alaska Terri ...

, and the mother of former

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

Mayor and Alaska State Senator Dennis Egan.

Biography

Early life

Egan was born Desdia Neva McKittrick on October 3, 1914, in Wilson, Kansas. She was the third of five children born to Joseph Leland McKittrick and Martha Desdia Alderson McKittrick. McKittrick worked at her family's grocery store to earn the tuition money to attend

Kansas State College Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. She then transferred to the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

, where her

aunt An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Known alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Children in other cultures and families may re ...

was a faculty member, in

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeast ...

. McKittrick began her career teaching music in a public school in

Glenrock, Wyoming Glenrock is a town in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,576 at the 2010 census. History Glenrock, known as Deer Creek Station, had its beginning as a mail and stage station along the Oregon Trail. The station served ...

, for two years. She was paid a salary of $1,000 USD annually. She moved to the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

in 1937. McKittrick sailed to Alaska on board a steamship called the ''Teachers Special'', which brought teachers to Alaska to work in the territory during the winter. McKittrick moved to

Valdez, Alaska Valdez ( ; Alutiiq: ) is a city in the Chugach Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to the 2020 US Census, the population of the city is 3,985, up from 3,976 in 2010. It is the third most populated city in Alaska's Unorganized Boro ...

, where she became one of just three new teachers hired for the Valdez school district that year for a one-year teaching assignment. She taught fourth through sixth grade, as well as music, in the Valdez public school system. McKittrick soon met her future husband, William Allen Egan, in Valdez, and the couple married on November 16, 1940. William Egan was also elected to the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives in 1940. William and Neva also operated a small grocery store, the Valdez Supply.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Neva 1914 births 2011 deaths Alaska Democrats American educators First Ladies and Gentlemen of Alaska Kansas State University alumni University of Wyoming alumni People from Juneau, Alaska People from Valdez, Alaska People from Ellsworth County, Kansas People from Converse County, Wyoming