Donald E. Hultquist, Ph.D.

Donald E. Hultquist, Ph.D., passed peacefully in Oberlin, Ohio, on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at the age of 91. His final days were filled with calls, visits, and celebrations of life shared with his family, friends, and his beloved wife of nearly 64 years, Nancy Parsons Stoutz Hultquist. Donald was born in Jamestown, New York, on September 14, 1934, to Julius and Alice Hultquist. He was the valedictorian of the Falconer High School Class of 1952 and went on to the University of Rochester, where he earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1962. After postdoctoral studies at the University of Minnesota and UCLA, where he worked in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Paul Boyer, he joined the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Michigan in 1964. He remained there until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 2002. Donald's published papers, research, and teaching left a lasting mark on the scientific community and on the many students he mentored. His research interests included flavin-mediated reduction of oxidant injury. In 1976, he received the University of Michigan's Distinguished Service and Outstanding Teaching Award, and in 1985, he was awarded the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship. Outside the laboratory, Donald was deeply engaged in civic and social issues. He served on the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Racial Balance and Equal Opportunity and played a key role in campus debates about academic and defense-related research during the politically turbulent decades from the late 1960s through the 1980s. In 1960, Donald met Nancy Parsons Stoutz, and the two were married in 1961, beginning a partnership of kindness, intellect, and energy that enriched the communities of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and later Oberlin, Ohio. In Ann Arbor, they were active members of Memorial Christian Church. For the past 23 years, they have been residents of Kendal at Oberlin, where they participated in nearly every aspect of community life and built many treasured friendships. Donald's legacy includes his devoted family, a substantial body of scientific publications, decades of genealogical research, and an impact not measured in material accomplishments or public acclaim, but in the ripple effect of countless acts of service - volunteering, supporting those in need, advocating for peace, justice, and equality, and practicing daily kindness. Donald is survived by his wife, Nancy; their children, David, Cindy, Laura, Daryl, and Kevin; grandchildren, Lex, Eric, Krista, Kayla, Hailey, Camden, Nicole, Blake, Charles, Abigail, and Patrick; great-grandchildren so far, Elliot, Sophie, Liam, and Isabelle; many beloved spouses and significant others; and his only brother, Robert Hultquist. We invite you to join us in honoring a life of love and purpose. A Celebration of Life will be Sunday, November 30, 2025 at 2 p.m. at Kendal at Oberlin, 600 Kendal Drive, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to Hospice of the Western Reserve at hospicewr.org. Arrangements are in the care of Dicken Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Elyria. For online condolences, visit www.dickenfuneralhome.com