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Mary Olympic of Igiugig passed away Tuesday at the age of 83

courtesy AlexAnna Salmon

Family says Olympic died from pneumonia complications at an Anchorage hospital after celebrating Orthodox Easter.

(Listen to KDLG's interview with Christina Salmon on her grandmother, Mary Olympic, on this week's Bristol Bay and Beyond.)

KDLG: One of Bristol Bay’s most cherished elders has passed away.  Mary Ann Olympic of Igiugig died at an Anchorage hospital Tuesday at the age of 83.

Her family tells KDLG News that the death was unexpected. She had apparently contracted pneumonia but was in stable condition before she passed.

Olympic, who was born in a reindeer herding camp at Kukaklek Lake back in 1931, was just in Port Heiden last week talking to residents there about reindeer herding. On her way home from Port Heiden, she had stopped in Anchorage to celebrate the Orthodox Easter holiday with her daughter.

The family says a funeral service is being planned for this Saturday in Igiugig.