Donald Casimir Mikulecky of Richmond, Virginia, passed away on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the age of 88.
Don served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Lieutenant from 1957-1960 and was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1960-1963.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Don earned his Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Chicago in 1963. From there Don taught at several schools including: S.U.N.Y. Buffalo, Philander Smith College, Harvard Medical School and Meharry Medical College. In 1973, Don accepted a teaching position at the VCU Medical School and remained at VCU until retiring in 2001, where he was made Professor Emeritus. During his tenure at VCU, Don enjoyed taking sabbaticals and teaching abroad which included time as a Visiting Professor at: University of Rouen, Rouen, France; Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Kennedy Allee, Frankfurt, Germany; University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Weizmann Institute for Science, Rehovoth, Israel; College de France, University of Paris, and CEA-Paris, Saclay, France. In addition to teaching, Don published many papers and two books. In 1993, his book “Application of Network Thermodynamics to Problems in Biomedical Engineering” was published. In 2012, Don and collaborator James A. Coffman published a book titled “Global Insanity: How Homo sapiens Lost Touch with Reality while Transforming the World.”

Outside of teaching Don had a passion for painting and playing chess.

Don was preceded in death by his father, Elmer F. Mikulecky; his mother, Valerie Mikulecky, and his son, Joel Mikulecky. Don is survived by his wife, Sandy Mikulecky; daughter, Elizabeth Lacy; stepson, Dan McDonald; stepdaughter, Jan Bassett; six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

The family will be having a private ceremony to honor the life of Don Mikulecky. If you’d like to honor Don’s life, please consider donating to Support the School of Medicine at VCU.