THE BOSTON GLOBE July 19, 2025

David Alan Mittell, Jr. of Jamaica Plain passed away peacefully on June 19, 2025 after a long illness. He was born in Boston on April 8, 1943, the son of David Alan and Mary Louise (Boss) Mittell. He was a graduate of Noble & Greenough School, where he was class valedictorian and captain of three teams, and a graduate of Harvard College. His joys in life were his friends, his travels, historic preservation, reading history and biography, as well as his participation in and commentary on the body politic.

After active-duty service in the Army National Guard, he was employed at the Judge Baker Guidance Center in Boston until 1973. From 1969 to 1972, he also assisted in managing two group homes for DARE in Jamaica Plain. At every station of his life and career, he mentored students and young writers. In particular, he was instrumental in bringing several Ukrainian students to the United States for their studies.

A man of opinions, his introduction to journalism was a column published in the inaugural edition of the Marshfield Mariner on April 13, 1972. The response led him to become a regular correspondent. He later joined the Mariner chain as its chief editorial writer, and in 1984 he began his signed column Politicus. He became a columnist at the Patriot Ledger in 1996.

In 1998, he joined the Providence Journal as a columnist and editorial writer and later served on the Journal's editorial board. The Journal, the Patriot Ledger, and several other newspapers published the 1,000th column of Politicus in 2008. In the following years, he syndicated Politicus on a freelance basis; served as an unpaid senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute; and hosted the weekly D.A. Mittell Show on WATD in Marshfield, Massachusetts.

His many dear friends locally, across the country, and around the world treasured his friendship, integrity, intelligence, humor, and style. They remained close and supportive during his last five years of hospital and nursing home care. He was a lifelong resident of Jamaica Plain, and he cared deeply for that community.

In addition to his friends, he leaves his brothers, Jonathan of Watertown, Massachusetts and Nicholas of Center Barnstead, New Hampshire; his sister Betsey Houghton (Robert) of Hartland, Michigan; his nephew Winslow Houghton (Lillian) of Moab, Utah; and his niece Haley Gentile of Highland, Michigan. 

THE DUXBURY CLIPPER August 6, 2025

David Alan Mittell, Jr. of Jamaica Plain passed away peacefully on June 19, after a long illness.

The son of David Alan and Mary Louise (Boss) Mittell, he was a graduate of Noble and Greenough School and Harvard College. His joys in life were his friends, his travels, reading history and biography, historic preservation, and his participation in and commentary on the body politic. A man of opinions, his introduction to journalism was a column published in the inaugural edition of the Marshfield Mariner in April 1972. He later joined the Mariner chain as its chief editorial writer and began his signed opinion column “Politicus.”

He became a columnist at the Patriot Ledger in 1996. In 1998, he joined the Providence Journal as a columnist and editorial writer, lat.er serving on the editorial board. In 2008, the 1,000th column of Politicus was published. After leaving the Journal, he syndicated Politicus on a freelance basis and served as an unpaid senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, and hosted the weekly “D.A. Mittell Show” on WATD in Marshfield.

His many dear friends treasured his friendship, integrity, intelligence, humor, and style. They remained devoted during his last five years of hospital and nursing home care.

He was a lifelong resident of Jamaica Plain and cared deeply for that community. At every station of his life and career, he mentored students and young writers and was instrumental in bringing several Ukrainian students to the U.S. for their studies. In addition to his friends, he leaves his brothers, Jonathan of Watertown, and Nicholas of Center Barnstead, New Hampshire; his sister, Betsey Houghton (Robert) of Hartland, Michigan; his nephew, Winslow Houghton (Lillian) of Moab, Utah; and niece, Haley Gentile of Highland, Michigan.

THE DUXBURY CLIPPER September 3, 2025

By Josh S. Cutler

Born in Jamaica Plain and spending his later years in Newton and Roslindale, David A. Mittell Jr. never stopped being a son of Duxbury.

Dave — “D.A.” to many who knew him—died in June, after a period of declining health, at age 82. A service was held last week in a quiet corner of Mayflower Cemetery, where he was laid to rest beside his parents.

The small gathering reflected the rich tapestry of his life. There were classmates from Nobles who remembered a loyal friend and a talented soccer player. There were longtime Duxbury friends who first knew him as a summer kid—sharing stories, a set of tennis, or, in one case, a first dance. Others knew him from Harvard, from a long career in journalism, or from his abiding affection for the country and people of Ukraine.

I can’t recall the very first time I met Dave. He was one of my father’s closest friends, and it feels as if he was always there. He visited our house often when I was growing up and even joined our family vacations a couple of times. My early memories are of a friendly, if eccentric, presence who drove a beat-up car and favored bow ties and a straw boater. As a kid I didn’t quite understand my father’s abiding friendship with him; they seemed so different.

As I grew older, I came to understand—and I’m glad to say—Dave became my friend, too. He was a brilliant conversationalist, a big-hearted intellect: endlessly curious, deeply read, often opinionated but never judgmental. He had a rare talent for keeping in touch. He was a connector of people and ideas. I often thought he’d have made a wonderful professor; he had a knack for making you think, pushing you to arrive at a well-reasoned argument, while remaining open to new ideas and other ways of seeing.

A writer and newspaperman to his marrow, Dave proudly lugged around an aging typewriter far longer than modern life required. He wrote for the Mariner Newspapers, the Patriot Ledger, and the Providence Journal, and later for the Clipper. His columns ranged from the relentlessly local—the water treatment plant at Millbrook, the redevelopment of Halls Corner, the restoration of Bug Light—to the worldly: the history of his beloved Ukraine, or a wry reminiscence of the day Castro came to Harvard.

Dave was a student and lover of Duxbury history. Though he kept his residence in Jamaica Plain for nearly all of his life, he developed a special bond with his adopted hometown. He was also a compassionate person who often used his platform to lift up the stories and voices of the disadvantaged. Dave was always ready to pick up the fight for a good cause. That same drive must have been what led him to spend time in Ukraine where he traveled often and formed many friendships.

At the memorial service, the Rev. Darrah Bryant of Duxbury’s First Parish Church offered a thoughtful eulogy, followed by some spontaneous reflections from friends and family. There was a favorite passage from Tennyson and a nod to Winston Churchill. One speaker drew an apt comparison to William Lloyd Garrison, who famously declared: “I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—and I will be heard.” Much the same could be said of Dave, a crusading journalist at heart.

When my own father died, much too soon some fifteen years ago, Dave became an even more important link to my past. It saddens me that he is gone now, too. Duxbury has lost a true character—one of its own. I’m grateful to imagine their happy reunion somewhere beyond our seeing, and grateful, too, for the paper trail and the friendships he leaves behind.

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