Mark Miazga

Mark Miazga, son of Laura Bixby Miazga, established the Laura Bixby Miazga Nursing Scholarship in 2022 to support nursing students pursuing the field that his mom was so passionate about.

Laura Miazga (née Bixby) was born on November 20, 1924. She attended the Mercy School of Nursing (now part of UW Oshkosh) and was a Nurse Cadet with the U.S. Public Health Service Division of Nurse Education during WWII from September 6, 1943, until her graduation in September 1946. Laura worked for many years at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rhinelander until her retirement in 1991. She was well known for the quality and humane care she provided to thousands of mothers and babies as a labor and delivery, birthing, and neonatal nurse. Family and children were everything to her. Laura married Henry Miazga on September 16, 1950. They had eight children: Peter, Patricia, Barbara, Vicki, Edward, Christine, Donna, and Mark.

Laura was an avid gardener, and lover of music, singing, travel, genealogy, nature, knitting, the four seasons, colorama drives, and history. She enjoyed knitting hats for babies, mittens for the mitten tree (you were blessed if you received a pair of mittens), and providing warm blankets to her patients. Laura was also a Brewers and Packers fan. She was a Cub Scout leader, a member of the Audubon Society, and a member of Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in Rhinelander for over seventy years, where she also taught CCD. Laura passed away on October 8, 2022, at the age of 97.