In memory.

• Author: Campbell, Melissa
• Position: In memoriam

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Vern McCorkle's first publishing attempts were done on an old Underwood typewriter, pilfered from his father's office and smuggled into his bedroom.

The cub reporter/publisher banged out a few graphs detailing such local events as who was selling Kool-Aid and graham crackers in their yards or announcing the births of several new pet bunnies. He'd make copies and pass them around to his buddies on the block.

He was 9 years old.

More than six decades later, McCorkle is the co-founder and publisher of Alaska Business Monthly magazine. The technology and the audience have changed over the years, but McCorkle's goal of writing, informing and shaping news--particularly Alaska's business news--has not.

"I always enjoyed putting words on paper," he said. "In business, particularly in Alaska, you can see where we came from. It changes all the time. Business has always been most exciting to me."

For the past year, McCorkle has put his wordsmithing aside to fight a battle against pancreatic cancer.

CHILDHOOD

McCorkle was born in Washington state in 1934. He and younger brother, Barry, grew up on land that is now owned by Microsoft Corp.

His father, Harold McCorkle, worked as the town doctor, while his mother, Patricia, was a nurse. Together they operated Redmond's first medical clinic.

"Every night at dinner, we always discussed what the medical profession owed the general population," McCorkle said. "We'd talk about people in dire straits and needed some extra help."

Back then, Redmond was small-town America. Population 636, it housed a couple of grocery stores, a bakery and a blacksmith shop.

"All the people who lived there took care of all the kids," he said. "If a kid did something wrong, they were told on. Grandma Swan had cookies, so we all visited her."

It was here that McCorkle took his first turn at writing, when he'd snatch the Underwood his dad used to write out prescriptions to write the neighborhood stories. In junior high school, he worked for the school newspaper, the Redmond Recorder, focusing on society news. He was later promoted to sports writer. He never had a formal education in journalism.

His life could have turned out much different. McCorkle was 13 years old when his parents died. His mother had a series of incidents. She broke her back, then contracted undulant fever and polio.

His father died shortly after her.

McCorkle and his brother were a day away from being sent to an orphanage when their Aunt...