Rodger Mitchell

Mitchell Rodger Mitchell, born July 22, 1926, died on June 11, 2013 at National Church Residence, Mill Run, after a long illness. Born in Wheaton, Illinois, he served in the Army and was awarded a purple heart for injuries sustained in the Battle of the Bulge. Graduating from Kansas State University and earning a PhD at the University of Michigan, he taught at the University of Vermont and the University of Florida before his appointment as Professor of Zoology at The Ohio State University, where he taught for 40 years. He was awarded two Fulbright scholarships, for collaborative research and lecturing - in Mito, Japan in 1964 and Coimbatore, India in 1976. Best known for his curiosity and intellect, he loved teaching and sharing ideas with colleagues. He was an internationally recognized entomologist, ecologist, and evolutionary biologist who contributed widely in areas as diverse as water mite systematics, anatomy, and ecology, Bruchid beetle reproductive ecology, agro-ecology, and the evolutionary ecology of thermal springs. He loved friends, family, music, art, travel, fine cuisine, silliness and fantastic gardens. His survivors include sisters, Nancie Gustafson, Las Vegas, Ginny Pigney, Jacksonville and Ruth Stark, Green Valley, AZ; son, Scott Mitchell, Greenville, TX; daughter, Annette Moore, Cumming, GA; granddaughters, Sally Roberts and Sonnet Moore; great-granddaughter, Harper Roberts; stepchildren, Kurt Huffman, Columbus, Kathy Cook, Grove City and Craig Huffman, DC; wife, Leslie Laufman and her children, Holly and Hal Laufman. He is sadly missed. Memorial Service at home Sunday, July 21. Contributions in his memory can be sent to www.CityMusicColumbus.org.