Passed peacefully in his home the morning of June 6th, 2016 in his 77th year. David was extremely active in the efforts of wildlife conservation and was a pioneer in the field of environmental care. He had a passionate love of nature with a keen interest in birds and trees. David lived what he believed, which he practiced as an accomplished entrepreneur by founding, with his late wife Sandra a successful all natural, environment friendly biological control business, one of the first of its kind in Canada.
David was predeceased by his wife Sandra and will be fondly remembered by his brother Bob Mitchell and partner Penny, nephew Andrew Mitchell and partner Sarah, their children, Bryce and Daniel, his niece Julie Beck and husband Mark their children Chloe, Maxwell and Rachel, His son John Courtney Robertson and daughter Susan Cavey and husband Anthony and their children Connor and Sienna.
David enjoyed a multiple faceted, exciting life that we welcome you to come celebrate with us. Celebration of his life will be held at HETHERINGTON AND DEANS FUNERAL CHAPEL, 5176 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls on Saturday June 11th from 1-3:00pm with a Memorial Service to follow in the Chapel at 3:00pm. A private family interment to take place at a later date. Cremation has taken place.
Donations can be made to Trumpeter Swan Restoration, cheques to be made to: Amherst Wildlife Foundation, Mrs. Myrna Wagner, 26 Swanhurst Blvd., Mississauga, L5N1B7. Receipts will be issued for donations of $20.00 or more.
OUR DEAR FRIEND
Our dear friend, Dave Mitchell passed away quietly earlier this week. Dave was Sandy’s partner at NIC, and, her soul-mate. The two of them were pioneers in Biological control in that they used a holistic approach, at the commercial level. Dave was a strong environmentalist and was not afraid to stand up, at meetings, in Civic chambers, Provincial legislatures and anywhere else he felt he needed to speak out. More importantly, Dave and Sandy practiced what they preached. Their beautiful “oasis” near Stevensville was sculpted by large earth movers. The fill was used to build the overpasses on the Queen Elizabeth Way, the highway between Fort Erie and Toronto. They ended up with a few, well managed lakes, surrounded by lots of Purple Martin houses. I have spent many an hour, sitting on their decks, watching an amazing array of birds migrate through their site. Dave collected old manuscripts and one time, when we were discussing a beetle issue, he left, and came back with an old tome, which was a compilation of letters sent into the Smithsonian. He read me a letter written by a potato farmer in Kentucky, during the Colorado potato beetle outbreak, I believe in the late 1890’s. The farmer was sitting on his porch, listening to the beetles munching away on his potatoes. After a while, he noticed a Woodpecker continually swooping into his field. With nothing better to do, he followed the Woodpecker into the woods and found its’ nesting tree. Also, with nothing better to do, he cut the tree down, perhaps thinking the Woodpecker was working on behalf of the beetles. He discovered that the tree was hollow, and more than half full of dead Colorado Potato Beetles.
Dave’s point was; just because we are entomologists, it doesn’t mean that insect problems can only be solved by insects. It the same logic that if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.
Dave, and Sandy, contributed to my understanding of life, entomology, pairing good meals with good wine, and remaining focused about our planet, and the interconnectedness of everything in it. Farewell Dave.
Written by Brian Spencer for a weekly entomologists news letter ( June 8th 2016)
Brian is colleague and a dear friend of Dave’s
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