Wilma Rutherford

Wilma Rutherford was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 1, 1929. Wilma was one of the first women inducted into the WACs (Women's Auxiliary Corps) from Pittsburgh. In the military, she was an X-ray technician, which was a career she continued later in life. While in the service, she met her husband, Walter Lee Rutherford Jr., and she followed him to Alaska in 1951, when he was stationed at Ladd Field in Fairbanks. In 1958, they homesteaded in North Pole, Alaska where they farmed and raised their five children. Wilma also worked at the State of Alaska Land Office and as an X-ray technician at the Fairbanks Health Center. Wilma was active in the church, including at Lily of the Valley Church of God in Christ and New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ in North Pole. Wilma Rutherford passed away on September 3, 2012, at the age of 83. For more about Wilma Rutherford, see her obituary in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner newspaper.