Robert "Bob" Husband

1931 - 2021

News story
By Nancy Gagnet
Blade staff writer

Dr. Robert "Bob" Husband, a professor of zoology who studied and discovered more than 172 new categories and species of mites, died Dec. 16. He was 90.

Mr. Husband died after a brief stay at Cambrian Assisted Living in Tecumseh, Mich., under the care of Hospice of Lenawee in Adrian, said his daughter Suzanne Husband. Mr. Husband had been in declining health recently, his daughter said. He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006.

Generous and kind in nature, Mr. Husband was devoted to his family and passionate in his pursuit of education, Ms. Husband said.

"He is known for his character and attitude," she said. "No matter where I go, if someone knows that I am his daughter the first thing they say is, 'I love him, he is so nice.' I get that every time. He always had a positive attitude."

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1953 where he earned a bachelor of science in zoology, Mr. Husband enlisted in the Air Force, serving as a certified radar intercept officer and instructor at James Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas.

Upon ending his Air Force service in 1958, he went to Western Michigan University and earned a master's degree in education. Soon after landing a teaching job at a middle school, Mr. Husband realized he would prefer a classroom of older students, so he earned his doctorate degree in zoology from Michigan State University in 1966.

While earning his doctorate, Mr. Husband joined the Michigan Air National Guard where he served as a captain, then a major in photo reconnaissance. In 1962 he participated in a nuclear bomb dust mission at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, requiring that he and his crew fly in an unpressurized B-57 through nuclear bomb clouds to collect bomb dust.

The data collected from that mission is used today, but the assignment exposed him to high levels of radiation, Ms. Husband said. In addition, he could not discuss the mission until much later in his life when it was declassified.

"In this day and age when you think about it, it's crazy," she said. "But to him, even though it was scary he felt it was his duty and he was really proud of the fact that they were able to use that data."

Mr. Husband continued to serve the Air National Guard and reserves until 1970.

In addition to service in the military, Mr. Husband also continued to pursue teaching by joining the faculty of Adrian College in 1964, where he forged a long career as a well-respected researcher and professor of biology. Throughout his tenure as a leading entomologist and acarologist, the latter of which specializes in a concentrated study of mites and ticks, Mr. Husband wrote more than 150 research publications and became an internationally known expert on the study of mites, presenting at conferences in the United States, England, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Japan.

His focus on mites began while earning his doctorate, when an adviser suggested he study mites on bumblebees because there wasn't much research on the subject at that time.

The Blade published several articles on his work, noting that Mr. Husband named one of his discovered mites Patricia, after his wife, and he named a species of mites he discovered Stigmacarus stantoni, in honor of former Adrian College president Donald Stanton and his wife, Barbie.

"I think the fact that it was something new that no one else could tell him about and that he could learn about really interested him," Ms. Husband said. "They [mites] were so different and it was obvious there were so many different species and I think he really enjoyed finding something new when he looked under the microscope."

Mr. Husband was born on May 21, 1931, in Hesperia, Mich., and moved to Kalamazoo in high school. On a return trip to see his family in Kalamazoo, he met Patricia Psalmonds at a dance hall. They wed on May 14, 1955, and enjoyed a 60-year marriage. She died in 2015.

Surviving are his daughters Linda Psalmonds and Suzanne Husband; son David Husband; sister Patricia Hoyt; brothers Mike Husband, Keith Husband, and Tim Husband; four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday at Wagley Funeral Home, 1501 W. Maumee St. in Adrian, where a full military service will take place at noon. The service will also be live-streamed through the Wagley Funeral Home website.

Memorial contributions may be made to Civitan of Lenawee or the Hope Community Center in Adrian.