Former UNM professor dies

Friends and family say former UNM professor Howard Dittmer had a love for biology and students that seeped into every part of his life.

Dittmer, 91, died of natural causes on Wednesday. He was the associate dean of Arts and Sciences and a biology professor at UNM from 1943-75.

Deborah Dittmer, his daughter, said she remembers hiking with her father, the biologist, whose profession also was a hobby.

“Because he knew so much, he could probably tell you every single plant in New Mexico,” she said. “You couldn’t just get a common name like, ‘It’s a rose.’”

She said that although her father retired from UNM in 1975, he kept his campus office through the late ’80s.

“His love of life was his profession and assisting his students — entertaining their goals,” she said.

Deborah Dittmer said her father also enjoyed throwing parties, playing golf, hosting exchange students, traveling and revising books. He wrote six botanical books, including three textbooks used in more than 250 universities.

Baker Morrow, an associate professor of architecture at UNM, said Dittmer gave him useful academic advice when he was an undergraduate in the ’60s. Morrow is the founding director of landscape architecture in the School of Architecture and Planning.

“I would not have been in that position without the help of Dr. Dittmer,” he said. “He was one of the most helpful people imaginable.”

Liz Reardon, an Albuquerque landscape architect, grew up two doors down from Howard Dittmer and said she has remained best friends with his daughter.

“His home was my home,” she said.

Reardon said Howard Dittmer never dismissed people’s thoughts and opinions during conversations. She said she remembers talking to him about the pros and cons of nuclear power as an “opinionated” teenager.

“He treated us as equals,” she said.

Dittmer was a member of Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Sigma, the Botanical Society of America, Ecological Society of America, Southwestern Naturalist Society, People’s Populations Reference Bureau, Wildlife Federation of America, American Association of University Professors, Albuquerque Rotary as a Paul Harris Fellow, Masons and Lovelace Medical Advisory Board, among other organizations.

He graduated from UNM with a bachelor’s degree in 1933 and a master’s degree in 1934. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a doctorate in 1938. Aside from UNM, he taught at Dubuque University and Chicago Teacher’s College.

He married his wife, Lois, a former student, on June 28, 1941. In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by his nephew, Tom Dittmer.