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One word epitomizes longtime Healy resident Claire Mercer. She was a lady, a woman of refinement and gentle manners.

That remembrance of her seemed so appropriate after a standing-room-only crowd shared memories of Claire at her memorial service Sunday at the Tri-Valley Community Center. Friends, family and community celebrated the life of this remarkable woman, who raised six children on the Alaska frontier, worked as a Tri-Valley School secretary for 25 years, and worked side by side with her husband of 57 years, Berle Mercer.

Claire and Berle Mercer homesteaded a ranch just north of Healy back in 1957. That was the beginning of their strong community involvement in this area.

A grand part of local history was lost when Claire Mercer died on Feb. 10 at Caring Bridges in Fairbanks. Her husband, Berle, remains under medical care in Fairbanks, but he was able to attend the celebration of Claire’s life on Sunday. Old friends eagerly lined up to greet him and to admire the photographic display of their amazing life together.

Of course, the story everyone loves to hear is how Claire and her identical twin sister, Clarice, attended the International Twin Conference in Omaha, Neb., in 1948. There, the twin sisters from New York met identical twin brothers Berle and Merle Mercer, two young cowboys from Nebraska. The couples corresponded for a year by mail and eventually met in person at the Mercer Ranch in Nebraska.

Love bloomed and on Oct. 1, 1950, in a double wedding, Claire married Berle and Clarice married Merle. Claire and Berle ended up moving to Alaska, where Berle had been stationed during some of his Army days.

On Sunday, friends remembered Claire’s love of flowers, particularly the pasque flower, the purple flower that is the first to bloom every spring. Her oldest son, Baxter, recalled combing nearby hillsides to collect bouquets of colorful flowers for his mother every May Day. The beautiful purple floral bouquets at her service were a reminder of her love of those flowers.

Shirley Hamel remembered that she and Claire were the first women allowed to join the Healy Valley Lions Club and Kay Durham recounted how Claire loved listening to her and Louise Grys disagree at some of those meetings.

“She did a lot of small things that had a big impact,” Hamel said.

Some of the most precious memories came from those who fell under her watchful eye as children — like Mayor Dave Talerico, who described how he once accidentally stuck one of Claire’s sons in the foot with a pitchfork during a youthful adventure. She didn’t hold it against him and even let him stay for dinner that night, he said with relief.

The many memories clearly showed how the Mercers opened their hearts and their home to the community for more than 50 years. Folks remembered hay rides, sleigh rides, picnics and swinging over the creek.

They remembered the hours Claire and Berle spent sharing their life story and opening their home to visitors, such as the Elderhostel visitors. The Mercers even operated a gas station on the Parks Highway during the 1960s and 1970s.

“Claire and Berle are a big part of me and Healy and I’ll never forget that,” said Judy Killian, who stayed in one of their cabins and watched the private herd of buffalo right out her front door.

“We had a great life,” said Baxter Mercer, who still lives in Healy. “And she was a pretty magnificent lady. The memories of her are good and will last a really long time.”

Claire Mercer is survived by Berle, her husband of more than 57 years; her sons and their families, including Baxter and Renee; Dwight, Kirk and his partner Regina Wycoff, Rex and Howard, all of Healy; daughter Wilma and her husband Deric Marcorelle, of Soldotna; nine grandchildren, a great-grandson; her sister June Wilson of Wallingford, Conn., and many nieces and nephews.

Living on the wind

One of the first signs of spring here will be the sighting of migratory birds.

Renowned naturalist Scott Weidensaul will present a program called “Living On The Wind: The World of Migratory Birds” at noon on Friday at the Murie Science and Learning Center.

He’ll discuss how and why birds migrate and the conservation challenges that face them. He’ll take observers from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Hudson Bay in Canada, through the rainforests of Central and South America, to the grassy pampas of Argentina.

Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history. His book “Living On The Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds” was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.

Science fair

It would never cross my mind to wonder if dog saliva could heal my wounds. But a Cantwell student explored that topic at this year’s Denali Science Fair. His conclusion? Don’t cut yourself to try it, but if you already have a cut, go ahead and let a dog lick it. It might help.

I also learned that frozen popcorn kernels do not pop as much popcorn as refrigerated popcorn kernels.

The variety and depth of these projects, created by elementary and middle school students, was impressive.

I could certainly relate to my neighbor, second-grader Isaac Van Horn, who investigated whether showers or baths use more water.

“We haul water in a truck and it takes a lot of time,” he wrote. “So I wanted to know how to conserve water, because I don’t like hauling it.”

He kept careful track of the amount of water used by himself, his younger brother and his parents.

His conclusion? “Parents need lots of water for tubs. Take quick showers to conserve!”

And of course, my favorite project this year, which I wrote about earlier this week (Tuesday, page A3), explored whether Oliva Juhl’s two older brothers are, indeed, aliens.

First-place winners will compete at the Interior Science Fair in Fairbanks at the end of the month.