Dr. John A. Mutchmor passed away on January 30, 2026, in Dedham, Massachusetts at the age of 96 years. John was born on August 21, 1929, to Doris and Reverend Dr. Harry Mutchmor in Fort William, Ontario, Canada.
As the child of a minister, John lived in various communities in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan with his parents and sisters, and he greatly enjoyed spending his childhood summers with his family on the Manitoulin Island. Majoring in entomology, he received the Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta in 1950, and his Master of Science and PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1955 and 1961. In 1955, he married Gloria Lou Peterson of St. Paul, Minnesota, his loving partner in life until her death in 2006.
John began his entomological career in Canada, first as a Technical Officer with the Lethbridge Entomology Laboratory, Lethbridge, Alberta from 1950-51, and then as a Research Officer with the Chatham Entomology Laboratory, Chatham, Ontario, from 1956-61. In 1962 he accepted the position of Assistant Professor in the Departments of Zoology and Entomology at Iowa State University. He became an Associate Professor in 1967, and a Professor in 1972.
At Iowa State, John’s research was in insect physiology. Each year he lectured and conducted laboratory instruction in one or two graduate courses in insect physiology and guided the graduate studies of Master of Science Students and doctoral candidates. He was also active in undergraduate teaching and advising. He enjoyed lecturing in high-enrollment courses in general zoology and biology and, over the years, was academic advisor to many undergraduate students. He was the recipient from his college of an Outstanding Teacher Award in 1979 and an Excellence in Teaching Award in 1989. He was a member of the honor societies Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, and Gamma Sigma Delta. Upon his retirement in 1991, Dr. Mutchmor was named Emeritus Professor in the (then) Department of Zoology and Genetics.
John engaged in a wide variety of personal interests throughout his life. For about ten years, he and Gloria enjoyed boarding horses on an acreage near Ames and on a small scale raising and selling American Quarter Horses and rough-coated collie dogs. Later, particularly after his retirement, John and Gloria enjoyed travel by motorhome, driving the historic roads and walking the beautiful paths of North America, from Tucson to Neils Harbor, gathering mementos and memories along the way. Sometimes they traveled with children and grandchildren, sometimes just with their two little Pomeranian dogs, Sammy and Babe. John was a dog lover, sharing over 90 years of his life with a variety of breeds and rescues. He was an avid gardener, especially fond of cacti culture, easily reciting the long Latin names of his thorny friends.
In 2011, John moved from his acreage to the Green Hills Retirement Community in Ames. In 2021, he moved to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to live with his daughter in her home there. In 2024, John moved into the long-term care facility at Newbridge on the Charles in Dedham, Massachusetts. In his ‘90s, John continued to enjoy stamp and coin collecting, as well as various arts and crafts. Not surprisingly, the person who could once dissect a fruit fly under a microscope remained good at detailed hand work, including assembling and painting model ships and planes. In his final years, John enjoyed sitting on the patio watching his daughter struggle to repot some of the cacti that have survived him and are decades old today.
John was preceded in death by his wife Gloria, his daughter Donita Woods, his grandson Floyd Marc Woods, his parents, and by three sisters, Miriam, Harriet and Joy. He is survived by his sister Sallie McDonald of Regina, Saskatchewan, by his son-in-law Floyd Woods in Marshalltown, Iowa, by his daughter and her husband, Anne and Andrei Bourdine in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and by 5 grandchildren and their families: Gordon, James and Shawn Woods in Iowa, and Aleksandra and Darya Bourdine in Massachusetts.
William J. Gormley Funeral Home in West Roxbury, Massachusetts has arranged for John’s cremation, and online condolences may be left for the family at www.gormleyfuneral.com. In accordance with John’s wishes, his family will privately celebrate his life in lieu of a formal ceremony.