David John Veronick

Jun 17, 1955 -

Nov 1, 2026

David "Dave" Veronick was born on June 17, 1955, to Clifford Veronick and Mary (Mazar) Veronick in Eveleth, Minn. He passed away in Anchorage, Alaska, on Nov. 1, 2026. He grew up in various areas around Minnesota, including Brainerd, St. Paul, and Gilbert. After graduation from high school, he pursued a vocational degree in electronics and also played in a band with both his father and his uncle, James Veronick, playing around Michigan, Des Moines, Iowa and Minnesota. This was one of the highlights of his life that he often talked about. The three Veronick men enjoyed entertaining others and traveling around to do so. Dave played the electric bass guitar, his favorite instrument, and also enjoyed playing many Bach pieces on the piano. Bach was his absolute favorite composer. He was a major Beatles fan, as well as The Doors, The Hollies and other groups from a variety of musical styles. He loved the rhythm and beat of music – it fed something deep in his soul.

Dave worked in one of the mine processing plants for US Steel in northern Minnesota, and then did radio work in the same area. After a subsequent layoff at a new radio job, he eventually decided to move to Alaska. There he lived with his uncle, James, and grandmother, Rose Veronick. Alaska suited Dave very well. He loved hiking, climbing up the Gunsight Mountain with his grandfather, cross-country skiing and bicycling.

Dave's main areas of interest in this world were astronomy, archaeology, technology and music, among many others. At work, he was often referred to as Super Dave or MacGyver for his ability to work at solving a problem until he found a solution. If he didn't understand the problem when he found it, by the end, he was an expert in that subject. He had an innate skill for understanding computers, electronics, just about anything digital or anything he chose to understand for himself. Dave earned a Microsoft certification by studying on his own and then the world of computers and other technologies became his work for the last 40 years of his life. Dave retired in 2020, spending the last six years of his life exploring many of his interests, including following the launch of the James Webb telescope and the many images it began sending back, helping us understand more about the origins of the universe.

At age 55, Dave was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma, a disease that rarely affects men as much as it does women. He lived with this diagnosis for his final 15 years, which impacted many areas of his life. He put his MacGyver skills to the test in devising new ways to see and do things when the scleroderma changed how he used to do them, such as putting pliers to use to help him open tightly sealed, vacuum-packed containers or using different tools to help him pick up things when his fingers no longer worked well. He was always thinking of ways to do something that someone wouldn't usually think of. He was such a talented person at not succumbing easily to scleroderma. He will be missed greatly.

Dave is survived by his wife, Julie; children, Richard and Elizabeth; mother, Mary Veronick; siblings, Mary Kay and Brian; and niece and nephew-in-law, Nikki and Nick Duff. He was predeceased by his father, Cliff; sister, Renee; grandmother, Rose Veronick; grandfather, John Veronick; and uncle, James "Jimo" Veronick.