Former Sitka, Alaska, resident Mildred "Jane" Callen died very peacefully in her sleep Saturday, January 2, 2016, in North Oaks, Minnesota. She was 97.

She will be buried with her husband, Ed Callen, at the Fort Snelling Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jane was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 14, 1918. Shortly thereafter, her parents, Orin and Mary Pratt, and an uncle moved to Northwestern Iowa and bought farms. Jane went to school there and graduated from Correctionville High School, as did her brother Ray Pratt. A younger brother, John Pratt, was born there and graduated from high school in Manning, Iowa.

Orin and Mary Pratt along with brothers Ray and John are all buried in the Manning Cemetery.

Jane met Ed Callen in Sioux City, Iowa, after attending a business school there. They both loved to dance and spent many fun Saturday nights at the Riverside Ball Room. They were married on December 31, 1938, and lived in eight different states, two of them twice. They moved to Alaska when Ed was 60 years old and lived here 31 years, leaving with their Pioneer status.

Both Jane and Ed loved Sitka, with its beautiful ocean and mountains. They both commercially fished and sport hunted the islands and area around Sitka.

They loved the people here also. They were members of the Elks Lodge, the Moose Lodge, American Legion and VFW.

They attended the First Presbyterian Church, and sang in the choir.

They had many great friends here and were very grateful and felt blessed for those relationships, her family said.

Survivors include sons Don Callen, Camas, Washington, and Dick Callen, who lives in Maplewood, Minnesota; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.