Pasquale Raffaele Di Raddo's Obituary
How do you measure a man’s life? Who knew the names of every grocery store checker; who went to his students’ soccer games in the rain and brought in treats during exam week; who helped steer them to strive for more and find their fit so that they could create fulfilling lives; who believed in thank you cards and the importance of small acts; and who gave his family every advantage to rise to their potential? How do you measure a man’s life who cared so immensely for his family, heritage, and work?
Pasquale Raffaele “Ralph” Di Raddo left his carbon matter behind on Sunday, May 24, 2026. He was born on March 13, 1954, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Giuseppe and Gilda Di Raddo, and grew up in the city’s Italian neighborhood. He played the accordion with his cousins, ate his nonna’s pasta cooked with tomatoes from the garden, saw the 1976 Olympics, and nurtured his lifelong love of learning at John F. Kennedy High School and McGill University. Torn between his love of history and science, he graduated with a BA in biochemistry and went on to receive his PhD in bio-organic chemistry. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Montreal Neurological Institute and a research associate instructor at the University of Chicago’s Ben May Institute, where he studied how environmental pollutant chemicals acted in causing birth defects and cancer.
He met the mother of his children on the corner of 55th and Blackstone, and drew carbon molecules on napkins through their first date at Ann Sathers. A future dad, he knew he wanted time outside of the lab to raise his children and be a present partner. He pursued a passion for teaching organic chemistry, which ultimately brought him to Ferris State University, where he was a tenured professor for 32 years.
He deeply valued the power of education. Always catering to differences in learning styles, he wrote poetry for chemistry education, and his paper on the use of comics for the teaching of chemistry laboratory safety remains his most-cited publication. He was the 2004 recipient of the Douglas Fonner Award for Outstanding Faculty Advisor, the 2005 Outstanding Registered Student Organization Advisor of the Year, and the recipient of the University's 2006 Distinguished Teacher Award. He was a longstanding advisor to numerous student organizations, including the pre-optometry and pre-medicine clubs and the Kappa Psi pharmacy fraternity. He will be remembered for his empathy, support of first-gen students, chalkboard (and, begrudgingly, whiteboard) notes, commencement regalia, and his SpongeBob Halloween costume.
A Québécois allophone and the son of Italian immigrants, he developed a desire to teach about the experience of being othered in media propaganda. He gave talks on the history of immigrants, the Holocaust, women in science, Cold War propaganda posters, communism and cartoons, and the suffragette movement through stamps, earning him an honorary degree in History bestowed by his beloved colleagues.
He stopped every day at Meijer to track down a copy of the New York Times and took his dog for a donut hole at Bernie’s. There was seldom an establishment he frequented where he was not known by every employee who would greet him by name.
Pasquale was a teacher through and through; a man measured by his compassion for his students, his unconditional love for his family, his respect for his roots, and the names and details told to him in passing that he committed to memory.
His love is carried forward through his family in Montreal; his brother Robert (Stephanie), niece Marie-Eve, nephew David, uncle Frank (Margaret), and many loving cousins; and his wife Lisa Sandin, his dog, Harper, and children, Paolo (Brittany) and Gabrielle (Nathaniel), who were undoubtedly his greatest accomplishment. He was the most generous, loving, and caring man, and they are grateful that he shared his life and exceptional French toast with them. “The cemetery is filled with irreplaceable people.”
There will be a celebration of life at the FSU Science Building SCI-102 lecture hall from 2:00-5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 29th. Memorial contributions in his name may be made to FSU’s first gen scholarship fund at https://www.ferris.edu/university-college/firstgen/supportingfirstgenstudents.htm
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Care and arrangements entrusted to Mohnke Janowicz Funeral Home in Big Rapids.
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