Gudrun “Goodie” (Erickson) Sparling

Goodie was born in Whitehorse on February 10, 1926, the daughter of John Olaf (Olie) and Kristina Erickson.

Ole was an adventure seeker, a quality he passed along to Goody. He left his home in Malungsfors, Sweden, in 1898, and sailed to the Canary Islands, South Africa, Hawaii, Australia, and Seattle where he learned of the Klondike Gold Rush. He joined the thousands of gold seekers who journeyed to Dawson City and prospected on Eldorado Creek.

In the early 1920s, after a stint carrying mail between Whitehorse and Dawson and prospecting near Burwash, he returned to Sweden to marry his childhood sweetheart. They moved to the Yukon first settling at Silver City. With a family on the way, Ole purchased the Regina Hotel ln 1925. Gudrun was born the following year.

Growing up in the hotel provided a unique childhood for Goody and her younger brother, John Erik. With the hotel lobby for a living room and a busy hotel dining room as a space for family meals, the constant flow of guests made for lively company. The guests delighted in the potbelly wood stove, comfortable chairs, crib boards, and cards—and the Erickson family welcomed the guests with family-style meals and home-cooked specials. The lobby was Goodie’s living room where she practiced on the old piano, and where her birthday parties were held.

Kristine made sure the rooms were spotless and there her children were always on their best behaviour.

Goodie spoke of an unusual guest during the war: Joe Louis, the world heavyweight boxing champ.

She also remembered the arrival of a “sea of humanity” that came to work on the building of the Alaska Highway.

She remarked that one of her favourite characters of all time was Wigwam Harry who frequented the Regina Hotel in the old days. She said that he would sometimes chase them.

In Goodie’s first year, she met Evelyn (Babe) Richards and they became lifelong friends who shared experiences of school and winter travel (via horse and sleigh while tucked in under buffalo blankets), and watched the evolution of transportation in the territory from steamships and rail to airlines such as Pan Am in the 1940s.

After graduation form Lambert Street School in Whitehorse, Goodie attended Teachers’ College in Vancouver and returned to the Yukon to teach in a one-room school house in Carcross.

The advenuturesome streak she inherited from her father came to the fore in 1948 when she met Joseph T. Sparling Sr., an American construction superintendent who was involved in the construction the Alaska Highway. They married in Las Vegas and settled for a time in Edmonton and Vancouver, where they raised four children: Joe, Kristy, John and Karen. They later retired to Palm Springs, California.

After Goodie’s husband passed away in 1978, Goody returned to Whitehorse to run the family hotel with her brother, John, and her bookkeeper Valerie Graham by her side.. Over The next 19 years, she pursued her passion for Yukon tourism, the preservation of history and culture, and community development by serving on a dozen boards, including Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon, The Yukon Order of Pioneers, Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, the Anglican Church Women’s Group, Yukon Foundation, and the Vancouver Yukoners’ Association. She was also an avid reader delighted in the performing arts, participated in the senior games and cared for her flowers. Those who were close to her will think fondly of her passion for pink and glamour and a things chocolate!

She was recognized in 2002 as a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth 11 Golden Jubilee medal and in 2008 she shared a Yukon Lifetime Achievement Award in Heritage with her dear friend Babe Richards.

Most of all she will be remembered for her hospitality, friendship and kindness.

Gudrun Ingeborg Sparling passed away peacefully in Whitehorse on Monday, November 5, 2018, surrounded by family and friends. She was 92.

 Goody is survived by her brother John Erik Erickson of Whitehorse; her sons: Joe Sparling (Debra) of Whitehorse and John Sparling of Vernon, BC; her daughters: Kristy Charlton (Bill) of Vernon and Karen Sparling (Glynn) of Prince George, BC; her four grandchildren: Benjamin (Bethany), Gina (Sean), Karla (Brendan) and David; her niece: Lisa Erickson (Ken) and nephew: John Paul Erickson of Whitehorse; great-nephew: Ryann Eby (Amber) and great-great nieces: Aliya and Ashlynn.

Sparling’s children say their mother distinguished herself at the Thomson Centre in Whitehorse by her extensive wardrobe, of many pink outfits and sparkly fingernails. They say her chocolate stash was ever far from reach.

She remarked that Robert Service’s Spell of the Yukon meant to her the midnight sun, the northern lights, beautiful sunsets and friendly smiling people who take the time to talk.