On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Rodney Feldmann, scientist, mentor, husband, and father, died peacefully at home at the age of 84.
Rod was born on November 19, 1939, in Steele, ND, and was raised in Bismarck, ND, by Lois De’Ette and Herman (Red) Dupree. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Geology from the University of North Dakota under the mentorship of F. D. (Bud) Holland, Jr.
Rod loved traveling, reading crime novels, driving his classic 1937 gangster-style Packard 6, conducting geological field work, and working with students on research and teaching. He was an outstanding mentor and role model for students and colleagues, and his research continues to influence scientists worldwide. He edited the popular book Fossils of Ohio. His philosophy, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,” never wavered; he spent his last days occupied by his life’s work: writing sections of the revision of the Decapoda volume of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology.
He is survived by his wife Carrie E. Schweitzer of Kent, OH, his daughter Aissa Feldmann of Durham, NC, his brothers Frank George [Helen] DuPree of Billings, MT, and Don [Mary Grace] DuPree of Atlanta, GA. No memorial service will be held; in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Rod’s name to the Rodney M. Feldmann Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o the Department of Earth Sciences, 鶹Ƶȫ University or to the Portage Park District Foundation, Streetsboro, OH