Husky News

Violet Redington, one of the most beloved women in Alaska history and widow of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race founder Joe Redington Sr., died Saturday after several years of battling cancer, on the very day this year’s race launched its ceremonial start in Anchorage.

KNIK – Violet Redington, one of the most beloved women in Alaska history and widow of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race founder Joe Redington Sr., died Saturday after several years of battling cancer, on the very day this year’s race launched its ceremonial start in Anchorage.

Mrs. Redington, 81, died at her Knik home, the same place where she and her husband nurtured not only dogs, but also the legacy of the Iditarod.

The Redingtons’ grandson, Ryan Redington, 23, himself an Iditarod veteran, had just finished his ceremonial start run down Fourth Avenue in Anchorage.

“Vi,” as she was known to hundreds of Iditarod fans, married Joe Sr. in Wasilla on Feb. 18, 1953, and helped him pursue his dream of creating the Iditarod. In 1999, the Iditarod Trail Committee saluted her contributions by naming her as an honorary musher.

Tireless ambassadors of the race, the Redingtons left an indelible impression on not only the mushing community, but most Alaskans who came to the state seeking adventure.

“I’ve known them forever, and Vi was always the nicest little woman you could ever meet,” said Joe Delia, longtime friend of the Redingtons and a member of the Iditarod Hall of Fame.

Delia said the race probably wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the dedication and efforts of the Redingtons.

“They’ve done so much for the race. I don’t think we’d have seen any dog teams out there – they were dying out, even in the villages.”

Joe Redington Sr. moved to Alaska from Pennsylvania in 1948, and he and Vi married about five years later.

“Joe and Vi thought a lot of each other,” May Carter said Saturday. Carter is a former U.S. commissioner for Wasilla who married the Redingtons in 1953. “I knew Vi for a long time. She was a friendly little gal who was helpful. She liked a good joke.”

The Redingtons settled a homestead on Flat Horn Lake, starting a love affair with the Knik area that lasted the rest of their lives. The couple worked as hunting guides in the 1950s, and began lobbying to have the Iditarod trail made a national historic trail.

Together, they helped found the Iditarod a race that essentially defines what Alaska is – big, bold and grueling, a test of the human spirit. It wasn’t easy at first – Joe and Vi faced plenty of naysayers – but with Joe taking the lead and Vi offering support, the Redingtons wouldn’t take no for an answer.

In 1967, 58 mushers competed in a 25-mile race from Wasilla to Knik, in what would be a precursor to the Iditarod. The Leonhard Seppala Race, as it was called, started with a purse of less than $1,000.

The 1968 race was canceled due to lack of snow, and with a purse of only $1,000, just a dozen mushers participated in the second event in 1969. Joe worked to promote the notion of a race to Nome, and, in 1973, the first race was run, with Dick Wilmarth winning. Ironically, Joe didn’t even run the race, because he was busy promoting it.

As Joe was the front man for the race, Vi was always by his side, offering support and encouragement. While small in stature, she was big in helping the race become the worldwide annual phenomenon it has become. “What they did was great. This never would have happened if not for them,” Delia said.

The Redingtons’ homestead along the Iditarod Trail in Knik was for years a gathering place for dog drivers and race fans, who came to train, buy dogs or just spend hours talking about dog mushing.

The walls of their home were covered with photographs, race bibs and other Iditarod memorabilia.

Joe Sr., died in June 1999 of cancer, and was buried in Wasilla in his favorite dogsled.

Joanne Potts, race director for the Iditarod, met the Redingtons more than 30 years ago. “It leaves a huge hole in my life,” Potts said of Vi Redington’s death. “I can’t remember not knowing her since I’ve been in Alaska. To me, she is one of the fixtures that are a part of this race.”

Colleen Scott, May Carter’s daughter, grew up in Knik and remembers playing kick the can with the Redington kids, Sheila, Ramey and Joey. She also cherishes her memories of Vi Redington. “I always thought she was such a gentle soul,” Scott said Saturday. “I think Joe couldn’t have done the Iditarod without Vi because she was such a great support system.”

A memorial service will be announced in the near future, the family said. Private graveside services will be at Wasilla Aurora Cemetery, and Mrs. Redington will be buried next to her late husband.

Source: Frontiersman.com