Roderick Atkins Suthers

Roderick Atkins Suthers, age 82, of Bloomington died Sunday afternoon (02/24/2019) surrounded by family. Born February 2, 1937 in Columbus, Ohio, he was the son of Albert Edward and Ruth “Marie” (Atkins) Suthers. Raised in Delaware, Ohio, Rod developed a love for nature, at an early age. He was an Eagle Scout in high school, and spent time in Northern Ontario at a family cabin built by his father in 1927, a tradition that he was able to share and pass along to his children and grandchildren. At a young age, he became interested in birds and would often go birding in the morning before school. He began doing field work for a college professor while still in high school, leading field biology studies for the professor’s students. After high school he spent a year travelling abroad in Australia, where his father had grown up. A Zoology major in college, he graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and then attended graduate school at Harvard University where he intended to study bird navigation. However, due to the uncooperative nature of Boston’s weather, he shifted his focus to echolocation in bats. He completed a Ph.D. at Harvard University under advisors Ernst Mayr, Donald R. Griffin and Edward O. Wilson. He finished a year long post-doc at Harvard, before joining the faculty at Indiana University in 1965. Rod was a Professor Emeritus of Cellular and Integrative Physiology in the Medical Sciences program at Indiana University’s School of Medicine where he worked for 51 years, retiring in 2016. He was Professor of Physiology and Biophysics in the School of Medicine, Professor of Neurosciences in the Program for Neural Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology, a member of the Acoustical Society of America, elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and his research was continuously funded for all 51 years by grants from the National Science Foundation and/or the National Institutes of Health. Rod authored well over one hundred publications and edited two books, Biology the Behavioral View, and Vertebrate Sound Production and Acoustic Communication. His early research dealt with echolocation and hearing in bats, and later in his career he returned to his love of birds, making distinguished contributions to the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying sound production in birds. His research and collaborations with colleagues and universities took him around the world, to many countries across 6 continents, often with his family in tow. He and his family spent time in the plains of East Africa, exploring bat caves in Trinidad, and camping in a tiger reserve in India. Rod enjoyed other hobbies such as canoeing, bird watching, skiing, reading, camping and was known for his excellent, and often dry, sense of humor. He also loved spending time with his dogs. Rod is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Barbara (Braford) Suthers, of Bloomington; his son, Kris Suthers (Mariana Nagy) of Indianapolis; his daughter, Lorinda Suthers-Salbego and her husband Terran Salbego, of Chicago, Illinois; two granddaughters, Noelle and Liliana Salbego; one brother, Rev. Derwent A. Suthers of Rio Rico, Arizona; a brother-in-law, Mark Braford (Cathy McCormick) of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; a sister-in-law, Ann Mappes (Terry Mappes) of Morgantown; and mother-in-law, Mabel Braford of Greenwood. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Rod was preceded in death by his parents and one sister in infancy. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Sycamore Land Trust, PO Box 7801, Bloomington, IN 47407 or log on to their website at sycamorelandtrust.org/donate. A Celebration of Life gathering is planned for Sunday, March 24th 2019 from 1-4pm at The Clubhouse at the Fields, 1333 Fenbrook Ln., Bloomington, IN 47401. Online condolences may be given at www.DeremiahFryeMortuary.com