Wayne R. Zwickey

Wayne R. Zwickey, 93, of Oshkosh, joined his beloved wife, Doris, in death on March 18, 2022. Wayne was born in Oshkosh on March 2, 1929, to Adolph and Alma (Wiese) Zwickey. He graduated from Oshkosh High School in June 1946 and that same year joined the Army and served in the Army of Occupation in Japan in the Headquarter Battery of the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 24th Infantry Division.  After his discharge, he enrolled as a geology major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with a degree in 1953. On September 15, 1952 – a day he always considered the luckiest of his life – Wayne met his future wife, Doris Mehlman. They were married January 16, 1954, and made their first home in Reno, Nevada.  Wayne actively explored for deposits of copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver and uranium throughout North America. He first worked for Anaconda Copper Company in Nevada and California, then went on to prospect for iron in Alaska. He did a brief stint with the Army Corps of Engineers in Florida before joining the Exploration Department of the New Jersey Zinc Company in Platteville, Wisconsin. While with New Jersey Zinc he was responsible for exploring for zinc and lead deposits in nine midwestern states. He was transferred to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as manager of exploration for eastern Canada. He was later transferred to Toronto but resigned to join McIntyre Mines as its exploration manager. Then, an opportunity came to return to his and Doris’s roots in the Fox Valley by accepting a position as Director of Mineral Exploration at Kimberly-Clark. At K-C he managed all mineral activity on company owned lands. During his years with Kimberly-Clark, Wayne served on the Grace Commission in Washington, D.C., which was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to fight government waste.Wayne retired from Kimberly-Clark in 1992 as Vice President of Mineral Resources. For a time, he was a consultant with the international engineering and geological firm of P.E. Lamoreaux Associates, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.Wayne enjoyed playing golf, history, reading, traveling, and listening to classical music. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents and two older brothers, Irving (“Son”) and Ben. Survivors include three children: Carol Lynn (Merl) Austin of Greenville, Wisconsin, and Goodyear, Arizona; James (Carol) Zwickey; and Lisa Zwickey, both of Oshkosh. Also surviving are five grandchildren: Angela (Glenn) Koerner, Greenville, Wisconsin; Paula (Geoff) Bastow, Louisville, Colorado; Thomas (Sara) Austin, Cary, North Carolina; Amy (Brandon) Barkalow, Omro, and Anna (Dewain) Gilbert, Larsen. He is also survived by 10 great-grandchildren, sister-in-law Carol Clochesy, niece Lory Clochesy, and great-nephew Patrick Clochesy.  Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 5, at the Konrad-Behlman Funeral Home, 100 Lake Pointe Drive, Oshkosh. Services will follow at 11a.m. Interment will follow at the New Elm Cemetery in the Town of Black Wolf. A memorial has been established to the American Heart Association.