Obituary - Joseph Marvin “Mike” McGinness

April 12, 1947 – February 9, 2025

Joseph Marvin “Mike” McGinness was born in Fallon on April 12, 1947, to Joseph William and Helen Marie McGinness. He passed away Feb. 9, 2025, at his home in Fallon at the age of 77.

Mike lived in Nevada his entire life. He grew up in Schurz while his father worked as a district supervisor for the Nevada Department of Transportation. The family moved to Fallon when Mike began high school.

He met his wife, Deanna, at Churchill County High School, and they married while attending the University of Nevada, Reno. After graduation, the two moved back to Fallon, where they worked for the family business, radio station KVLV-AM and KVLV-FM.

Mike worked as station manager and disc jockey at KVLV. Due to his lifelong work in radio, he was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1999. He also served as the voice of Fallon Greenwave high school sports beginning in 1973 and was inducted into the Greenwave Hall of Fame in 1999.

Mike and Dee raised three children in Fallon—Ryan, Brett, and Shannon.

He held public office for nearly three decades, first as chair of the Churchill County School Board from 1984 to 1988; then as a member of the Nevada Assembly from 1989 to 1991, and the Nevada Senate from 1993 to 2012. Throughout his time with the Nevada Legislature, Mike represented a wide swath of rural Nevada, covering 10 of the state’s 17 counties. At one time, he represented the largest state Senate district in the continental United States.

While in the Senate, he was chair of the Senate Taxation Committee and was elected by his colleagues to serve as Senate minority leader from 2011 to 2012.

A lifelong public servant, Mike was a longtime member of the Fallon Kiwanis Club and Fallon Ducks Unlimited. He served as president of the Nevada State Fair Board of Directors, chairman of the Churchill County Parks and Recreation Commission, and commissioner of the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline.

He also served in the Nevada Air National Guard as a staff sergeant and was named Airman of the Year in 1973.

In his spare time, Mike enjoyed hunting, fishing, traveling, and camping throughout Nevada and Oregon with family and friends.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Jo Ellen McGinness. He is survived by his wife, Deanna; his children, Ryan (Phil), Brett (Sara), and Shannon (Jamie); and his six grandchildren—Aidan, Katie, George, Blake, Joseph, and Elizabeth.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Oats Park Arts Center, 151 E. Park St., Fallon.

In Mike’s memory, please consider donating to the scholarship fund of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Fallon Alumni Chapter (www.unr.edu/alumni/chapters/fallon) or to Epworth United Methodist Church’s Wolf Center (www.epworthfallon.org/serve) if you are able.