Former Alaska Chief Justice Craig F. Stowers died at age 67 on Feb. 10, 2022. He had retired from the Alaska Supreme Court in 2020.
A conservative jurist not swayed by the politics of the day, Stowers was appointed to the court by former Gov. Sean Parnell in 2009 to replace Justice Robert Estaugh. He became the state’s 18th Chief Justice.
Stowers was born in Daytona Beach, Fla., was educated on the East Coast, and first arrived in Alaska in 1977 as a National Park Service ranger at then-McKinley National Park, now Denali National Park and Preserve. He earned his law degree from University of California Davis School of Law, and returned to Alaska, where he co-founded the law firm Clapp Peterson and Stowers. Former Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed Stowers in 2004 as a judge in the Third Judicial District in Anchorage.
In 2009, then-Gov. Sean Parnell appointed Stowers to the Alaska Supreme Court, where he served until announcing his retirement in January, 2020, to be effective June 1.
Stowers had in the past served as president of the board of Christian Health Associates, was on the boards of the Alaska Natural History Association (Alaska Geographic), Brother Francis Shelter, and Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center. He was married to Monique Stowers; the two were known for their charitable giving to many causes, among them the Food Bank of Alaska.
“I was saddened to learn of Justice Stowers’ passing. As Alaskans, we are grateful for his service to Alaska’s people in the judiciary and we offer our condolences to Justice Stowers’ family, friends, and colleagues,” said former Gov. Parnell.
