Robert Frank Mize, a retired federal economist, died Friday of kidney failure at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. The Mount Airy resident was 80.
He previously lived in Silver Spring and had worked as an economist and program analyst for the departments of Labor and Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He retired from the federal government in 1975 after 28 years.
He was born and raised in David City, Neb. He was a private in the Army from 1944 to 1946, when he was honorably discharged.
He earned a bachelor of arts degree in business administration in 1947 from George Washington University.
In 1979, he returned for 17 years to David City. He was mayor from 1986 to 1990 and on the City Council from 1992 to 1996.
He moved to Mount Airy in 1996.
He married Eleanor R. Miller in 1945. She died in 1985. Two years later, he married Evelyn A. Davis, who died in 1994.
He enjoyed watching football, listening to news reports and taking care of his dog.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Grace Trinity United Church of Christ, 9501 Old Baltimore Road, Frederick.
Survivors include four daughters, Nancy Mize Sinclair of Towson, Barbara Price of Arlington, Va., Susan Mize Kanstoroom of Ashton and Janice Shumaker of Mount Airy; a brother, Franklin Mize of Beaverton, Ore.; nine grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and four stepgrandchildren. A brother, David Mize, died in 1987.
