Honoring a Life of Hospice Service: Remembering Dick Mittendorf

Hospice volunteers are the heart of compassionate end of life care. They offer presence, comfort and steady support when families need it most. Dick Mittendorf lived that calling with quiet strength and deep devotion.

Dick began volunteering with Reserve Care (formally Stein Hospice) in 1998 and soon invited his wife, Ellen, to serve alongside him. Together, they supported hospice patients and families with kindness and respect, offering companionship at the bedside and comfort during life’s most tender moments.

When Ellen died in 2012, Dick made a personal commitment to continue their shared work. For the next decade, he honored her legacy through consistent, faithful service. From 1998 to 2022, he gave more than 8,000 hours as a hospice volunteer, sitting vigil, visiting patients and supporting families through grief and transition.

As an Army veteran, Dick felt a deep connection to fellow service members at the Ohio Veterans Home. He supported more than 270 hospice patients outside the hospice care center, many of them veterans. He understood their sacrifices and met them with dignity and respect.

Dick also gave his time to community events and fundraisers, and each year he donated proceeds from a small tree farm he cultivated in Ellen’s memory to support hospice care.

His life reflects the power of hospice volunteering, compassionate care and unwavering service to others.

Dick Mittendorf, January 1, 1936 – February 4, 2026