10/01/2026
Remembering Alan Medlin
It is with profound sadness that KPU Telecommunications shares the unexpected passing of our friend and colleague, Alan Medlin.
Alan joined KPU in early 2016, and during nearly a decade with us, he became an integral part of the KPU Telecom family—and a familiar and trusted face to many of our customers.
As a KPU installer, Alan specialized in helping customers solve technical problems in their homes. But what made Alan special wasn’t simply that he could fix a problem. It was the way he treated people while doing it.
Alan took the time to listen. He made personal connections. He genuinely cared about helping people, and customers remembered that. Many would call KPU and ask for Alan by name.
On one service call, Alan discovered that he and the customer shared an interest in ham radio. What began as a technical service visit became a genuine conversation between two people with a common interest. The connection meant enough to the customer that he later made a special trip to KPU’s central office just to bring Alan a book about ham radios. It was a small moment, but one that says a great deal about Alan’s ability to connect with the people he served.
Quiet and reserved by nature, Alan never wanted to be the center of attention. In fact, some of the best examples of who Alan was are the things he tried very hard not to receive recognition for.
When KPU held food drives or learned of local families who needed food or Christmas gifts, Alan gave generously—and insisted that his donations remain anonymous. Once, he surprised the entire Telecom crew by buying everyone pizza. True to form, he didn’t want anyone to know it came from him.
That instinct to help others was part of Alan long before he came to Ketchikan. While working in North Carolina, Alan once came upon a nighttime car accident in a rural area. The vehicle had struck a power pole and damaged a fiber-optic cable. Alan stopped and helped the teenagers involved in the accident. Once he knew they were safe, he realized the damaged fiber meant a community downstream was without internet. Alan knew how to repair it—so he stayed and spliced the cable.
That was Alan.
If someone needed help and he could provide it, he did.
He brought that same dedication to KPU every day. Alan was dependable and remarkably committed to his customers. He made himself available evenings and weekends when someone needed assistance because he simply didn’t like the thought of a customer having to wait.
Away from work, Alan enjoyed the outdoors, fishing and especially hiking—quiet pursuits that suited his quiet nature.
Alan probably would have been uncomfortable with a post focused entirely on him. He never wanted the spotlight. But sometimes the people who seek recognition the least are the ones most deserving of being remembered.
For nearly ten years, Alan quietly made KPU Telecom better. He helped our customers, supported his coworkers, gave generously to people who needed it, and brought kindness into countless interactions without ever expecting anything in return.
Our hearts are with Alan’s family, friends, coworkers, IBEW Local 1547, and the many KPU customers who came to know and trust him.
Alan will be deeply missed, and he will not be forgotten.
