Jalmar Martin "Jay" Kerttula (April 6, 1928 – November 13, 2020)[1] was an American businessman, farmer, and politician in Alaska.

[4] Jalmar Kerttula, commonly known as "Jay", was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 6, 1928, the son of Finnish immigrants.

[5] In 1935 the family relocated to the Matanuska Valley Colony, a New Deal agricultural resettlement program, located Northeast of Anchorage.

[3][6] Their oldest daughter, Beth Kerttula, was a state representative from Juneau for 15 years, until she left to take a fellowship at Stanford University and from there took a post with the Obama administration.

[5] He was chosen at the organizational meeting for the body's 1969 session by his Democratic party peers to serve as the Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1969 to 1970.