Longtime Porcupine gold miner Don Petersen died May 1 following a fall at his Haines Highway home and "age-related ailments," neighbor Sage Thomas said. He was 81.

Petersen held several claims in the historic Porcupine mining district that he mined or leased more than 45 years, said brother Tom Petersen of Haines.

Fellow miner Mark Sebens said Petersen loved mining and studying the Porcupine region, where he re-worked several historic sites. "To be a gold miner you have to be an eternal optimist because there are so many times it just doesn't work out," Sebens said.

Petersen helped Sheldon Museum director Cynthia "CJ" Jones and two descendents of the original owners of the Cahoun Creek Mining Company learn more about it. They spent a few weeks with Petersen at his mining cabin in the late 1980s and early 2000s.

Petersen was at home in the rugged, remote area, Jones said. He knew the river crossings, hiked them up and down steep hills, and shared his expertise and his cabin enthusiastically. "Don really took good care of us," she said. "His knowledge of the area and the people who had been there before was really vast. I regret that I didn't get him talking on tape."

Donald Petersen was born in September 1935 in Four Lakes, Wash., the third of Ruth and Paul Petersen's six children.

He grew up on a Davis Lake fur farm where his father, who was a commercial painter, also raised minks.

After graduating from Cusik High School, Petersen joined the Air National Guard and worked for a plumbing company. He earned a professional certification just before the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, and headed to Anchorage to help rebuild the city. "He knew there'd be a lot of plumbing done, and he was right," Tom said.

Peterson worked for decades as a union plumber in Anchorage and on the oil rigs and refineries of the Kenai Peninsula. Starting in 1969, he migrated back and forth between plumbing jobs and his Chilkat Valley claims. About 20 years ago, he retired and settled here permanently. This year, current mining partner Geoff Nelson installed Petersen's first indoor toilet.

"The idea of finding gold just gets some people. You just keep playing with it, even if it's only for small amounts," Mark Sebens said.

Janice Bowman of Spokane, Wash. said her brother was very independent, private, and friendly.

"He just loved the outdoors," and did not like crowds in the Lower 48. He hadn't left Alaska since his mother's funeral in the late 1970s, but remained close with family. "If I didn't see my brother for 20 years, it was 'No big deal and come on in' and we'd have a good visit and a good time together," she said.

Survivors include siblings Janice Bowman, Tom Petersen of Haines, and brother Arlie Petersen. No service is planned.