Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Dr. Henry Kirt Touchstone III passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Friday, March 10, 2023. Kirt was born October 15, 1951, to Hugh and Henry Kirt Touchstone Jr. in Monroe, La. He went on to study Business at Northeastern University of Monroe ( which is now University of Louisiana at Monroe, ULM). He met his wife Peggy O'Neal while they were both attending college. They were not immediately fond of each other until Peggy saw his legs in tennis shorts. They went on their first date in 1975 and fell in life-long love. He obtained his bachelor of Business from ULM in 1975 and began working with his father in finance and became the House Sergeant at Arms for the House of Representatives in Baton Rouge, LA. Soon after college he married Peggy, whom he had a wonderful life with for 45 years. He went back to school and graduated from LSU School of Dentistry in 1985. Following graduation, he moved his family to Craig, AK, where his family continued to grow. In 1988, they moved further up the Alaskan panhandle to Haines and started a dental practice where he became known as "Dr. T".

Alaska offered beauty, fishing, hunting, and hiking and he became a camelot for the family. In 1997, the family moved back to Louisiana, where he became active in the local dental community. Kirt had many accomplishments during his life: He was an instructor at ULM, served on the board of ULM Dental Hygiene, was president of the Northeast Louisiana Dental Association ( NELDA), served as the director to NELDA, was active in state legislature for dental agendas, participated in the Bowden Conference for Dentistry , and was invited to become a member of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the American College of Dentistry.

He was known for his charitable heart and was active in the "Give Kids a Smile"program providing dental services to undeserved children. He closed his practice in Bernice , LA in 2018 and returned to Homer, AK to work as the director/dentist for the Seldovia Village Tribe ( SVT). After retirement he moved to be near family in Spokane, WA. Kirt was a wonderful husband, father, and friend. He was a strong man in every sense of the word and fiercely loved his wife Peggy O'Neal, his daughters Tracy Killingsworth, Kathryn Touchstone, and Rebecca McDonald and husband Jason, and three grandchildren

Reese, Aiden, and Emma Earheart and great grandson, Rivers Earheart, sisters Helen Vanderhoven and Jan Doege, and many nieces and nephews. Family and friends will be notified when plans for a celebration of life are completed. He was a loved and cherished husband, father and friend to many and lived a very full life. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please send donations to the "Give Kids a Smile" foundation through the American Dental Assoc.