William Joseph Mitsch

William Joseph Mitsch (Bill), born on March 29, 1947 in Wheeling, West Virginia, passed away at the age of 77 early Wednesday morning, February 12, 2025, at First Community Village in Upper Arlington. There was a full moon and a light snowfall filled the air, casting a peaceful glow.
Growing up in Wheeling, Bill enjoyed climbing hills and playing in creeks, where he acquired a deep and enduring respect for nature and the Ohio River Valley. He played endless games of baseball in the family front yard, cheered on the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was a talented piano player. As a teenager, Bill spent summers as a camp counselor at Oglebay Park. He graduated from Wheeling Central Catholic High School and is a proud alumnus of the University of Notre Dame (class of '69), where he earned a BS in mechanical engineering and played keyboard in rock bands (Savage Rose, Nobody's Children, and the Fantastic Emanons). While a student at Notre Dame, he met the love of his life, Ruthmarie Hamburge, a college student in Chicago, impressing her with his piano skills. They married in 1970.
After graduation, Bill worked for Commonwealth Edison in Chicago, where he was influenced by the first Earth Day initiatives in 1970, inspiring him to pursue graduate studies in environmental sciences at the University of Florida. As a master's student, he was selected to participate in a seminar at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands where he was introduced to the scholarship of Howard T. Odum, an intellectual giant in systems ecology. Fortuitously, Odum was on the faculty at the University of Florida, and Bill became his PhD student there at the Center for Wetlands, receiving his doctorate in 1975.
Bill is known throughout the world as "Mr. Wetlands" for his groundbreaking research and accomplishments in environmental sciences–including modeling wetlands ecosystems, wetlands restoration, and for pioneering the field of ecological engineering. Bill ran research programs and held faculty positions at The Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago), The University of Louisville, The Ohio State University, and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). He authored many books, including the internationally acclaimed textbook Wetlands, now in its sixth edition, and authored and co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed published studies that helped shape those academic fields. Bill was the founder of the internationally renowned journal Ecological Engineering and served on the boards of numerous journals and scientific boards. Throughout his career, he was an advisor and mentor to more than 85 master's and PhD students in addition to 20 post-doctoral fellows. He was a charismatic teacher who set high standards for students and colleagues.
In addition to publications, international collaborations, and students, Bill's crowning professional achievement was his vision and development of wetland research parks in academic locations where he, his students, and visiting scholars could collect data, run studies, and better understand wetland ecosystem restoration and engineering in these living laboratories. In the 1990s, he conceived of, designed, and developed the Olentangy River Wetlands (ORW) at the Ohio State University. It was the first university campus wetland research park of its kind. The ORW has inspired other campus research wetlands around the world, and earned the distinction of being the first and only Ramsar designated wetland in Ohio. While at FGCU, he developed the Everglades Research Park in Naples, FL, where research focused on Everglades restoration. Beyond their research function, the public has enjoyed and benefited from these parks where local flora and fauna thrive and water quality has improved.
Among his many honors were the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize of 2004 presented to him by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, the Einstein Award from the Chinese Academy of Science, and a Doctorate honoris causa from Tartu University, Estonia. He served as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, held Fulbright positions in Poland, Wales, and Denmark, and served as a research advisor at several international universities. In addition to traveling extensively in a professional capacity, he also brought numerous eminent and emerging scholars from around the world to Columbus, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, where among many other meetings he hosted the fourth International Society of Ecology summit on "Global Wetlands" in 1992 and the world Eco Summit to discuss "Ecological Sustainability" in 2012.
Beyond his professional and intellectual legacy, Bill has left an indelible mark on his family. He was a remarkable husband, father, and grandfather. Bill and Ruthmarie traveled the world, met cherished friends, and built a family together over the past five decades. When possible, Bill included his family in world travels, and thanks to him, his daughters have traveled extensively. He taught them how to change a tire, drive a stick shift car, score a baseball game, seine a river, and measure water quality. He imparted on his daughters a love of cats, piano, and Notre Dame football. Bill encouraged his daughters to never doubt their abilities and follow their dreams and was immensely proud of their successes. He also enjoyed watching his grandchildren's interests and personalities develop.
Bill is greatly missed by his wife of nearly 55 years, Ruthmarie; his daughters: Rebecca Nell Lenzi (Marc), Jane Frances Mitsch (Ahmed Olayanju), and Mary Cecilia Mitsch; four grandchildren: Calvin and Megan Lenzi and Gabriel and Maya Olayanju; two sisters: Mary Theresa Vogel (Michael) and Rita Solinsky (Joseph); three brothers: Robert Mitsch, Joseph Mitsch (Christine), and James Mitsch (Caryl); two sisters-in-law: Therese Celine Bartlett (William) and Nora Nell (Joan Khoo); and two brothers-in-law: James Hamburge (Sue) and Mark Hamburge. He also leaves behind many other family members including nieces and nephews, cousins and friends who will sadly miss him. He was preceded in death by his parents, William H. and Evelyn Mitsch; his dear aunt Mary Mitsch; his sister, Catherine Sultany; his father- and mother-in-law, Frank and Nell Hamburge; a brother-in-law, Robert Hamburge; and a sister-in-law, Bernadette Mitsch; as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins from his extended close-knit family.
We are eternally grateful to our family, friends, and neighbors who have helped provide Bill and the family with food, good company, and laughs. Special thanks to neighbors who joined Bill at football game watches and road trips to PNC park and Notre Dame, Inner Strength RN Health Advocates, as well as the staff at The Key who provided in-home services and to First Community Village who offered kind and compassionate care along with the First Community Hospice team.
Friends may call Sunday, February 16, from 2 to 4 pm at EGAN-RYAN FUNERAL HOME NORTHWEST CHAPEL, 4661 Kenny Road. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Agatha Catholic Church, 1860 Northam Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43221 at 10 am on Monday, February 17, followed by a celebration of life luncheon in the parish hall. Private burial will be later at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Notre Dame, In.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Mitsch Graduate Student Fund at Ohio State University, giveto.osu.edu/giving and select Ruthmarie and Bill Mitsch Graduate Student Fund; to the University of Notre Dame, https://giving.nd.edu; or to Friends of the Everglades, https://www.everglades.org/.
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