Tom and Peggie Iskra

Voices of the Last Frontier Chorus group is one of the actions we took to make her life easier and to help her journey through the next stages of her life.

Peggie singing in the November 2019 Voices of the Last Frontier concert. Anchorage, Alaska, ©2019 – Dave LaBelle

Peggie and I met on a train going from Wiesbaden, Germany to Zermatt, Switzerland.  A friend, Jerry, and I were walking through the train cars with wine refreshments when another friend, Roy, stopped us and said, “Peggie, I want you to meet my friends Tom and Jerry.” She shook her head and we ended up having a great ski weekend.

Well, Peg went back to California to finish her degree and to work part-time. I went to Vietnam on assignment and then to Colorado en route to my home. 

Tom preparing for the November 2019 Voices of the Last Frontier concert. Anchorage, Alaska, ©2019 – Dave LaBelle

We married in 1973 and had follow-on assignments to San Antonio, Montgomery, and Anchorage as Peggie worked at each location, moving up the ladder as a contract executive. In early 2015 Peg began to experience short-term memory loss. She tried extremely hard to cope with the stress of memory problems. She realized that she needed to retire and did so in Dec 2015. Her memory loss began to accelerate in late 2018.

Retired Air Force Col. Tom Iskra reaches over and reassures his wife of 46 years, Peggie, before the November 2019 Voices of the Last Frontier Performance. Anchorage, Alaska, ©2019 – Dave LaBelle

We sought help through the Alzheimer’s Resource (of Alaska) and went to many seminars to try and relieve her frustration and ease her pain. Her mom and I became her caregivers to ease her mental pain. 

Voices of the Last Frontier Chorus group is one of the actions we took to make her life easier and to help her journey through the next stages of her life.

Our thanks to Tom, who shares his experience of caring for his wife, Peggie.