John L. Zirkle

        John L. Zirkle, 65, of Port Republic, VA, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, July 1, 2014.

Born January 18, 1949 in Washington D.C., John was the son of the late Leslie Arthur and Mary Eleanor Eberly Zirkle. He is survived by his wife, Danette Duncan Zirkle, of Port Republic to whom he was married for 43 years; his daughter, Heidi Zirkle Arthur and her husband, Ben, of New York City; two grandchildren, Ruby and Lilah Arthur; and two brothers, Martin Zirkle of Shelby, North Carolina and Jeffrey Zirkle of Winchester, and their families.

John was known for his sense of humor, love for the outdoors, and his interest in fitness. He was proud to have been a captain of his Loudoun Valley High School football team and to have graduated with Distinguished Honors from the Virginia Military Institute in 1971.  He served for two years as a Lieutenant on active duty with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed by several years in the Reserves. He received his Master’s Degree from Pacific Lutheran University and was employed as a civil and physical engineer for the U.S. Forest Service for 35 years. He retired as its Regional Bridge Engineer, and his career included positions directing the Job Corps training programs and many trips to fight forest fires out west. He was also formerly an Army Reservist, an employee of the Pentagon, a foster parent, and an educator for the Math Counts program.

For the past 25 years John has battled Parkinson’s Disease. The family is very grateful to the staff of Journey’s Crossing Assisted Living in Elkton Virginia for their extraordinary kindness during the last 7 years and to John’s friends from Loudoun Valley and VMI whose loyalty has been a great comfort throughout his illness.

A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on Saturday July 12th, 2014 at the Omps Funeral Home (Amherst Chapel, 1600 Amherst Street) in Winchester, Virginia.

The family has made arrangements with the UVA Health Foundation to accept memorial contributions in John’s name to support its research related to Parkinson’s Disease. Contributions can be sent to: UVA Health Foundation, PO Box 800773, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0773, indicating “John Zirkle Memorial contributions” on the memo line.  Condolences may be offered to the family at www.kygers.com or www.ompsfuneralhome.com.