Primary Name: Olsen, Anita Grace Garnick Kodzoff
Filed as: olsen_anita_grace_garnick_kodzoff
Also known as: Anita Grace Garnick; Anita Garnick-Kodzoff; Anita Kodzoff; Anita Olsen
Occupation / Association: President, Juneau Women’s Igloo (1949, 1950); Alaska Territorial House of Representatives member; Alaska Territorial Senator; bailiff and law librarian, Superior Court; grocer
Born: March 18, 1904, Fort Collins, Colorado
Died: March 30, 1987, Seattle, Washington
Parents: Frank Louis Garnick; Clara Ella Herner Garnick
Spouse: George Val Dimer Kodzoff; Harland D. Olsen
Children:
Associated places: Fort Collins, Colorado; Juneau, Alaska; Mendenhall Valley, Alaska; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: Anita Grace Garnick Kodzoff Olsen, Anita Garnick Kodzoff Olsen, Alaska Territorial Senate first woman, Juneau Women’s Igloo President 1949, Alaska Territorial House member 1947, Garnick's Grocery Juneau, Kodzoff Acres Trailer Park
Biography
Anita Grace Garnick Kodzoff Olsen served as President of the Juneau Women’s Igloo in 1949 and 1950.
She was born on March 18, 1904, in Fort Collins, Colorado, to Frank Louis Garnick and Clara Ella Herner Garnick. Anita grew up in Juneau and graduated from Juneau High School in 1922. She later attended the Alaska Territorial Normal School.
Her father purchased the Consumer’s Market on Seward Street in 1923 and renamed it Garnick’s Grocery. Anita worked in the store, and after her mother’s death in 1938, she took over management of the market. She operated the business until closing the grocery store in 1955.
Anita served as Secretary–Treasurer for the American Federation of Musicians, Local 672, AFL-CIO.
She entered public service and became the second woman elected to the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives, serving from 1947 to 1949. In 1949, she was elected to the Alaska Territorial Senate, serving until 1953. She was the first woman to serve in the Alaska Territorial Senate, although another woman had previously been elected but did not take office.
Anita later worked as a bailiff and law librarian for the Superior Court in Juneau from 1959 to 1969.
She married George Val Dimer Kodzoff on December 3. Together, they established Kodzoff Acres Trailer Park in the Mendenhall Valley. George died in March 1979. Anita later married Harland D. Olsen on September 25, 1982.
She was active in numerous organizations, including the Order of Eastern Star, American Legion Auxiliary, Women of the Moose, the Emblem Club, and the Alaska Native Sisterhood.
Anita received the American Legion Citizenship Award in 1963.
She died in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1987.
Sources
1910 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau; 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau; Who's Who in the West, 19th Edition, p. 453; Daily Sitka Sentinel, April 3, 1987
Tags: Anita Grace Garnick Kodzoff Olsen, Anita Garnick, Anita Kodzoff, Juneau Women’s Igloo President, Alaska Territorial Senate, Alaska Territorial House, Garnick's Grocery Juneau, Kodzoff Acres Trailer Park