Dane MUTTER

MUTTER, Dane W.

Age 90, of Clayton, died on October 22, 2021. He was born November 23, 1930, in Morrow County, Ohio, to Charles and Muriel (Freeman) Mutter. He is survived by his wife Priscilla, his children Shay, Dane Jr. (Joyce), and Denis (Melissa). Two

other children, David and Susan (Barry McCormack), predeceased him. Dane is also survived by grandchildren

Benson, Colin, Alexis, Sheldon and Larisa (Max); great-grandchildren Kellen, Kai, Ashley and Elias; great-great-grandchildren Lia Sue and Abbey; by stepchildren Carol Carter and Eric Haag (Tina); and step-grandchildren Savannah and Caroline. Dane is also survived by his former spouse and mother of his children, Cecil Mae Beers. Dane had a rich life of service to the earth. He was a major player in the region's conservation and land stewardship progress. In 1963 he began working for the National Audubon Society as director of the Aullwood Children's Farm, now Aullwood Audubon Farm and Center. In 1967 he joined then Dayton-Montgomery Park District, now Five Rivers MetroParks. He stayed with this organization until 1988, leaving to serve as Executive Director of the newly formed Beavercreek Wetlands Association. While with the Park District he started writing his weekly column, Downtown Naturalist, for the Dayton Downtowner, a supplement to the Dayton Daily News. He wrote this column for 13 years.

In 2007 he and Brian Hackett of the Dayton Historical Society published the book, Gems of the Greater Dayton Region, an overview of the natural and cultural history of our region. Then in 2020 he published Nature in Dayton, an anthology of his favorite writings from his Downtown Naturalist column. In 2011 Dane was awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Partners for the Environment, a coalition of environmental organizations in the Miami Valley. And in 2018 the Beavercreek Wetlands Association named a newly created prairie the Dane Mutter prairie. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Beavercreek Wetlands Association, the Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, or an organization of your choice. A celebration of Dane's life will be held at 2:00 at the Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 8690 Yankee Street, Dayton, on Saturday, December 4, 2021. To leave a message or share a special memory of Dane with his family, please visit:

www.kindredfuneralhome.com