DAVID A. MITTELL Jr.

MITTELL, Jr., David A. David Alan Mittell, Jr. of Jamaica Plain passed away peacefully on June 19, 2025, after a long illness. The son of David Alan and Mary Louise (Boss) Mittell, he was a graduate of Noble and Greenough School and Harvard College. His joys in life were his friends, his travels, reading history and biography, historic preservation, and his participation in and commentary on the body politic. A man of opinions, his introduction to journalism was a column published in the inaugural edition of the Marshfield Mariner in April 1972. He later joined the Mariner chain as its chief editorial writer and began his signed opinion column Politicus. He became a columnist at the Patriot Ledger in 1996. In 1998, he joined the Providence Journal as a columnist and editorial writer, later serving on the editorial board. In 2008, the 1,000th column of Politicus was published. After leaving the Journal, he syndicated Politicus on a freelance basis and served as an unpaid senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, and hosted the weekly "D.A. Mittell Show" on WATD in Marshfield. His many dear friends treasured his friendship, integrity, intelligence, humor, and style. They remained devoted during his last five years of hospital and nursing home care. He was a lifelong resident of Jamaica Plain and cared deeply for that community. At every station of his life and career, he mentored students and young writers and was instrumental in bringing several Ukrainian students to the U.S. for their studies. In addition to his friends, he leaves his brothers, Jonathan of Watertown, MA, and Nicholas of Center Barnstead, NH; his sister, Betsey Houghton (Robert) of Hartland, MI; his nephew, Winslow Houghton (Lillian) of Moab, UT; and niece, Haley Gentile of Highland, MI. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 11 am at Mayflower Cemetery, 774 Tremont Street, Duxbury, MA. Donations in his memory can be made to the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, 34 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, huri@fas.harvard.edu, or Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 350 Jamaicaway, Boston, MA 02130, Emeraldnecklaceconservancy.org/donate/ Please visit the Cartmell-Davis Life Celebration Funeral Home website at www.cartmelldavis.com for the full obituary and to sign the online guestbook.

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