Peter J. Mitas

Peter James Mitas, a retired technical writer, math teacher and former Marine with a pronounced streak of playfulness and a love of absurdity, died Monday, March 14, 2022, after a long struggle with severe lung disease. He was 77 years of age. He leaves behind his wife, Linda Mitas, and two daughters, Rachael Mitas and Kate Mitas.

Pete was born in New York City in 1944, the son of Greek and Greek-Cypriot immigrants Fannie Rubas and Dimetrous (Jimmy) Mitas. He attended Stuyvesant High School and later City College of New York, before joining the Marines in 1966. He met the love of his life, Linda, in 1968, and they married in 1970 after his return from a tour of duty in Vietnam. Both finished their degrees at Worcester State College, in Massachusetts, where Pete graduated summa cum laude with a major in mathematics and a minor in secondary education. He would go on to teach junior high mathematics and, later, adult education classes in math, in addition to being a technical writer for NCR, in Dayton, Ohio.

Pete was such a good man, father and husband. A terrible athlete himself, Pete once had to get stitches after riding his bicycle into the family's own parked car. Nevertheless, he enjoyed coaching his daughters' soccer teams when they were young, and instilled in them a sense of fair play and the importance of including everyone, regardless of ability. He and Linda were married for over 50 years at the time of his death, and with rare exceptions, he praised Linda's excellent cooking to the skies after every meal.

Pete loved making people laugh, and making awful jokes, and playing, always, with words and colors and shapes. He loved having fun, and thought being childish was a mark of high honor. Performing his brand of silliness for kids as a teacher and, later, volunteer tutor at a local elementary school gave him immense pleasure, as did reading his nonsense poetry aloud to anyone who would listen. He read constantly, working especially in later years to understand how the mind operated: he liked to envision it as a ball of rubber bands twanging and vibrating off each other. He made art endlessly, especially paper art, mobiles, enamel pieces — so much that every wall in the house is covered with his work. He left so much of himself behind, in his art and in his family. They are so very grateful he came into this world, and that they got to share this time with him.

Goodbye, Mr. Silly. We love you.

Graveside service will be held at 12:30 pm on Friday, March 25, 2022 at Dayton National Cemetery,
4400 W. Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45428.

To share a memory of Pete or to leave a special message for his family, please click the 'Share Memories'
button above.