John "Jack" Van Derbeek Maxham

Jack Maxham was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, as well as a musician, professor, entrepreneur, environmental engineer, and collegiate wrestler. He died unexpectedly in his home on April 12, 2025 at the age of 77.

Jack was born in Somerville, NJ in 1947 to John & Eleanor (Van Derbeek) Maxham. He was raised on the family farm along Route 22 in Annandale, among the rolling hills of Hunterdon County, NJ. In his youth, Jack discovered his three lifelong passions: music, science, and sports. After watching his sister Joan Anne practicing the piano, he begged his mother to let him take lessons too. As a gift, John & Eleanor gave Jack a Gilbert chemistry set that started him on the path to be a scientist, after he turned the farmhouse basement into a makeshift laboratory. While he enjoyed playing basketball, baseball, and football, attending a clinic in 6th grade kicked off a persistent love of wrestling. On the mat, Jack’s signature move was the Japanese Whizzer, a high risk, high reward maneuver that would often put an opponent on his back.

While attending MIT as an undergrad, Jack’s wrestling skills reached new heights: as a junior in 1968, he won the New England Intercollegiate Wrestling Championship in the 145-pound weight class. That was also a banner year for the MIT wrestling team as a whole, with two of his teammates (Norm Hawkins, 152 lbs and Fred Andrew, heavyweight) also winning their respective weight classes in the same tournament—a feat for the team not equaled before or since! Education was very important to Jack, so after MIT he continued his studies, earning a master’s degree from Rutgers and then a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota.

In 1971 Jack met Cindy while they were both students at the University of Minnesota. Less than 6 months later, they started making wedding plans, marrying within one year of their first date. Their union spanned 52 years and was rooted in mutual support and enduring companionship. As a loving and proud father of Jason and Amanda, Jack was a present and patient teacher. He also adored his two grandchildren, Hazel and Pearl, treasuring their visits to Wisconsin and time with them on numerous trips out West.

Jack's work career spanned both business and academia. After getting his PhD, a string of research positions eventually led him to the Institute of Paper Chemistry, where in 1981 he landed a job as assistant professor of environmental science. He was also an entrepreneur, receiving patents for recycling paper mill sludge that prompted him to found Prime Fiber, a company built on those innovations. Rounding out his career was 6 years of teaching in the Paper Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Of his students, Jack wrote: "I made them work hard to pass my courses with a decent grade...I sensed that the students appreciated my challenging them."

Jack's passion for music was deep-seated, and his chosen instrument was the piano. As the principal pianist for the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, he played hymns and meditation pieces for most Sunday services between 1983-1987. After that, he continued to share his music at numerous events at the Fellowship and in the wider community, including a series of 200+ shows at local nursing homes with vocalist Mary Gerlach. Jack filled his home with the sounds of his favorite composers, sparking a lasting affection for music in his children.

Jack is survived by the love of his life and wife of 52 years, Cindy; son, Jason of Reno, NV; daughter, Amanda and granddaughters Hazel and Pearl, of Henderson, NV; his sister, Joan Anne Maxham (Carol Taylor) of New York, NY; sisters-in-law, Karen Mueller, Sandy Clow, and Linda Quade; brothers-in law Wayne Quade and Richard Mueller; numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.

As an exercise, in 2016 Jack drafted his own obituary. It concludes: "It is always best to remember the good and forgive the bad."

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2 pm on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (2600 Philip Lane, Appleton, WI).

For those who would like to make a donation in Jack's name, his favorite organizations were the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, PBS Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Public Radio.

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