June 25, 2026, Seward Folly

Mariann Phelan, 79, of Seward, Alaska, died peacefully with her two children by her side on May 26, 2026, at Providence Seward Medical Center. She was born on July 1, 1946, in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Thomas and Marian Goggin.

Mariann was the youngest of four children and was very close to her older brothers, Tim, John, and Jim. Their family loved the outdoors, often going camping, fishing, skiing, and horseback riding in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Those experiences instilled in her a love of nature, mountain landscapes, and animals that would stay with her throughout her life. She was creative from a very young age and loved to draw and paint, and she learned to love gardening from her parents. After high school, she went to college in Michigan for a couple of years before deciding to return home to Colorado.

After moving back, Mariann went to work for IBM, where she met Ron, the love of her life. They were married in August 1967, and they were each other’s best friend for the almost 60 years they were together. They welcomed three children together: Scott, Lance, and Tiffany. Life and work took the family all over the western United States — from Colorado to Oklahoma, Arizona, Montana, California, Oregon, and finally Alaska — and they embraced each place as a new adventure.

Mariann had a rich and varied working life. She and Ron ran a Dunkin’ Donuts together in Oklahoma. She became a portrait photographer at Olan Mills. She helped Ron run his construction company. When they settled in Seward, she worked at Urbach’s Clothing, where she loved helping people and making them feel good in what they wore. She and Ron later opened The Frame Cottage together, where they helped people make their art, keepsakes, and memories beautiful.

Throughout her life, Mariann’s creativity found many outlets. She mastered tole painting and loved painting flowers, birds, and animals. Ron designed rocking horses for some of the children who graced their lives, and Mariann took great joy in painting each one with incredible detail and its own unique personality. She also painted Christmas ornaments covered in beautiful birds and delicate flowers, each one a small work of art. Her painting brought color and life to everything it touched.

Mariann was a kind, quiet, and generous-spirited person. To family and friends alike she was a calm and steady presence — always reassuring in times of sadness or uncertainty, and eager to find the bright side of life. Ron nicknamed her “Pollyanna” for her gentle insistence on finding the silver lining, even when he wasn’t quite ready to let go of his frustration about something. She always told the people in her life, “Remember how special you are.” She had a radiant smile and a huge heart for anything lost and in need of care. Animals were a constant in her life; every home they made together had a dog or a cat, and often both – and she never met a stray animal she wouldn’t take in. After her Parkinson’s diagnosis, she faced her illness with the same quiet grace and strength that defined everything she did.

She is survived by her children Lance and Tiffany, and her brother Jim. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Ron, her son Scott, and her brothers John and Tim.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2026, from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m., at the American Legion Seward Post #5, 402 Fifth Ave. Mariann’s wishes were for her ashes to be scattered with her husband’s by their favorite lake in Colorado. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the Parkinson’s Foundation or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.