John N. Waxvik, 72, of Woodstock, GA died Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Metropo Hospice of Marietta, GA.
John was born June 5, 1937, the son of Oscar and Alpha Waxvik of Grand Forks, ND. After graduating from Grand Forks Central High School, he spent six years in the US Air Force as a Weather Observer, where he cultivated a lifelong love of meteorology. He adored the Weather channel. He could fix almost anything, he was a whiz at current events and was almost impossible to beat at cribbage.
Following his military service he enrolled at the University of North Dakota where he received a B.S. in Geology. Upon graduation he joined the Anaconda Copper Company in Butte, Montana as an underground Mining Engineer and as Foreman at the Anaconda open pit mine.
In 1970 he became a Federal Mine Inspector with the then Bureau of Mines, which later became
The Department of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at Alameda, California. In 1973 he was transferred to the Washington, DC office. With the exception of 1991 to 1994 when John
worked as the Assistant Director of the North Central division of MSHA in Duluth, MN, he remained with MSHA in the DC area until his retirement, after which he moved to Woodstock, GA.
During his service in the Department of Labor with MSHA he was selected for its prestigious appointment to the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair, Washington D.C. During that time he attended George Washington University and received his Masters Degree in Public Administration.
John's 35 year marriage to Janis Mirehouse ended in divorce in 1995. Their three children survive him: Kristine Stanley (Bob) of Bristow, VA, Cynthia Wenger (Brent) of Woodstock, GA, and Eric
Waxvik (Kathleen) of Ashburn, VA; along with six grandchildren: Bobby and Michaela Stanley, Alyssa and Hannah Wenger, and Charlotte and Joseph Waxvik. He is also survived by two sisters: Marian Schneeweis of Grand Forks, ND, and Alayne Nelson (Clifford) of Crookston, MN; and one brother: Ole Waxvik, Grand Forks,ND as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, his parents, and two brothers, Warren of Grand
Forks, ND and Oscar of Sacromento, CA.
Interment will be at the Zion Cemetery near Osnabrock, ND on June 10, 2011.
