Chainkeen Exchange-Vic Fischer, last surviving delegate to Alaska constitutional convention, dies at age 99

ANCHORAGE,Chainkeen Exchange Alaska (AP) — Vic Fischer, who was the last surviving delegate to the Alaska constitutional convention in the mid-1950s, has died. He was 99.

His death Sunday in Anchorage was confirmed by Schawna Thoma, a family friend.

Fischer was a delegate to the constitutional convention in which the foundational document that took effect when Alaska became a state was drafted. He was a member of the last territorial legislature — before Alaska became a state in 1959 — and later served in the state Legislature.

Fischer was a voice in Alaska politics, including last year joining a bipartisan group that opposed calling a state constitutional convention. Alaska has not had a constitutional convention since the original one in the 1950s, and voters are asked every 10 years whether a convention should be called. Voters last year overwhelmingly voted to reject calling one.

Fischer was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1924. His mother was a Soviet citizen and his father an American, according to biographical information shared by the family. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later earned a master’s degree in city planning from MIT. He moved to Alaska in 1950.

Survivors include his wife, Jane Angvik, and children.