MAHAVIR JAIN December 1939 – June, 18 2021
Mahavir Jain, 81, of Los Alamos, NM passed away after complications from a heart attack on June 18, 2021.
He was born to Raj Bahadur Jaiswal and Anguri Devi in December 1939 in Barther, India.
After earning his bachelor’s degree from Agra College in 1957 and his master’s degree in physics from the University of Delhi in 1959, he emigrated to the United States in 1964 to pursue his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Maryland.
It was there he met and married JoAnn Dorson in Beltsville, MD in 1966. After finishing his Ph.D. in 1969, Mahavir performed research at the University of Manitoba and at Texas A&M University before settling in Los Alamos in 1974. Mahavir worked as a nuclear physicist and classification specialist at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1974-2005, when he retired. He continued to do classification consulting until 2020.
Mahavir was a dedicated husband and father, making many sacrifices to ensure that he could provide care for JoAnn in their home during her long battle with multiple sclerosis. Mahavir enjoyed the outdoors in New Mexico and was an avid hiker and fossil hunter with JoAnn. When JoAnn could no longer tend to their garden, Mahavir became something of a master gardener himself.
He also participated as a leader in his son, Raj Jain’s, Boy Scout Troop. He continued to be active in Boy Scouts until his death. Growing up in India, Mahavir never had the opportunity to participate in Boy Scouts, but he earned the Wood Badge award and was recognized with the Council Silver Beaver award as an adult leader.
Mahavir was also the treasurer for Services and Aid to the Relief of the Poor for 17 years, which raised over $500,000 for cancer care and schools in rural India. He was very active in other volunteer work, including the Los Alamos Health Fair, the Los Alamos Heart Council, and the United Way.
At the time of his death, Mahavir was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings (four sisters: Kasturi, Nauratan, Premlata, and Neera, and two brothers: Danvir and Karanvir), and his wife of 48 years, JoAnn. His brother, Jaiveer, has since passed away.
Mahavir is survived by his siblings (three sisters: Kusum, Anita, and Rosy, and one brother: Dhram Vir) and their families, his son, Raj Jain, his daughter-in-law, Tina Giovanielli, and his two grandchildren, Derek and Alexis.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Boy Scouts of America or the American Heart Association. A memorial service will be held on Sunday August 1st at 2 PM at Fuller Lodge.
