Wayne R. Haggstrom

Major Wayne R. Haggstrom, 60, beloved husband of Mary Ann Wilkinson, passed away July 17, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona after a two-week battle with the Covid19 virus. Besides Mary Ann and their pugs, Jenny and Georgie, he is survived by his sister Gail (Poss) of Phoenix, brother Col. Glenn Haggstrom of Fairfax, VA, and nieces Paige (Berlin) in Phoenix and Shannon (Heiselman) in Maplewood, NJ, and nephew Stefan Wilkinson Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. His parents Ruth E. and Robert J. Haggstrom preceded him in death. As a member of an Air Force family, Wayne lived in many places growing up but considered the Washington, D.C. area home. He graduated from Annandale High School in 1977 and decided to join, as Wayne would say, "the family business." He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1982 from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Arts in Computer and Information Resources Management in 1989 from Webster University while working at the Defense Mapping Agency in St. Louis. In 1990, Wayne returned to Virginia and continued his distinguished Air Force career stationed at Bolling Air Force Base until 1997 supporting Operation Desert Storm. He w...[more]

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Director of the AF Program Resource Office and Commander of the AF Project Support Office. He directed over 1,500 people in 100 sensitive units worldwide. Although dangerous, he loved his work and traveling the world with his people. He was a true patriot. Upon retirement, he was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal. After retirement, Wayne worked in facilities management and technical and personal consulting in Northern Virginia and relocated to Phoenix in 2007. He was currently a Sr. Consulting Manager at MSS Business Transformation Advisory in Phoenix. Also, Wayne was Chairman of the Board of the Southwest Alliance for Excellence, the Board Secretary of American Society for Quality Phoenix Section, and a Board member of the East Valley Center for Spiritual Living. When he was not working, Wayne loved cooking and grilling. His beef tenderloin was legendary. He loved photography, all types of music - especially Jimmy Buffett, remodeling and building, OSU Buckeye football, and jumping to the rescue for anyone who needed him. This sweet, caring, brilliant soul will be truly missed. Wayne loved dogs and never met a dog who did not love him! All memorial donations to the AZ Pug Life Rescue Society at https://www.azpugliferescue.org/donate.html are greatly appreciated.