PCAD Display Options
PCAD Display Options
Select theme to display preview image.
Male, US, born 1918-06-10, died 1983-03-22
Associated with the firms network
Branch, B.H., Architect; Mithun Bowman Emrich Group, Architects; Mithun Partners, Architects + Designers + Planners; Mithun and Associates, Architects; Mithun and Nesland, Architects; Mithun and Nesland, Ridenour and Cochrane, Architects; Mithun | Hodgetts + Fung; Mithun, Ridenour and Cochran, Architects; Naramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson, (NBBJ); Wilson-Mithun Partners, Architects
Résumé
Mithun enlisted in the US Navy during World War II, on 09/05/1942, serving until 06/03/1946. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information, Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 10/01/2018.) Another miltary document listed a "date of precedence" in the US Naval Reserve of 08/17/1942. His rank was Ensign.
Architect, U.S. Navy, Bremerton Shipyards, Bremerton, WA, 1945-1946.
Draftsman, B.H. Branch, Architect, Bremerton, WA, c. 1946; Mithun, having a background in naval architecture, supervised ship construction and repair during World War II.
Draftsman, Naramore, Brady, Bain and Johanson (NBBJ), Architects, Seattle, WA, 1946-1947.
Partner, Wilson-Mithun Partners, Architects, Bellevue, WA, 1949-1952.
Partner, Mithun and Nesland, Architects, Bellevue, WA, 1952-1955;
Partner, Mithun and Associates, Bellevue, WA, 1955-1958.
Partner, Mithun, Ridenour and Cochran, Architects, Bellevue, WA, 1958-1960;
Partner, Mithun and Associates, Bellevue, WA, 1960-1984. the firm was known as "The Mithun Associates" from c. 1975 until 1983, according to former AIA Seattle Director, Marga Rose Hancock.
Mithun's firm changed names several times after Omer Mithun's death in 1983; it was known as "Mithun Bowman Emrich Group," "Mithun Partners," and finally just "Mithun." It moved from its long-time home in Bellevue to Seattle, WA, in 1990.
In 2010, Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners, maintained offices in Seattle, WA, and San Francisco, CA.
Teaching
Assistant Professor, University of Washington (UW), Department of Architecture, Seattle, WA, 1947-1950.
Associate Professor, UW, Department of Architecture, Seattle, WA, 1950-1982.
Professor, UW, Department of Architecture, Seattle, WA, 1982-1983.
Professional Activities
Member/Chair, Bellevue Planning Commission, Bellevue, WA, 1953-72.
Member, City of Medina Planning Commission, Medina, WA.
Mithun took the Oath of Office for the State of Washington Architect's Registration office in 1968 and 1973.
Professional Awards
Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 04/1973. Mithun and fellow faculty member at the University of Washington's College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Phillip Jacobson (b. 1928), were elected to FAIA status at this time. (See "Two Named F.A.I.A. fellows," Seattle Times, 04/22/1973, p. 51.)
College
B.Arch., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN, 1942.
Graduate degree in naval architecture, University of Michigan (U of M), Ann Arbor, 1945.
Relocation
Mithun was born in Marcus, IA, on 06/10/1918. In 1920, his parents Sigurd and Lily continued to reside in Marcus, where he worked as a bank bookeeper. The 1920 US Census mistakenly noted that Sigurd had immigrated from Denmark, not Norway. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Marcus, Cherokee, Iowa; Roll: T625_482; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 26, accessed 02/14/2024.) The 1925 IA State Census also found the Mithuns living in Marcus, living in a $25-a-month rented dwelling. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation State Historical Society of Iowa (via Heritage Quest); Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897, accessed 02/14/2024.)
In 1930, the Mithun Family resided in a rental residence in the Bamer Addition of Marcus, IA. (Rent was $25 per month.) At this time, the household included a cousin, Myrtle Gendron (born c. 1915 in ND). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Marcus, Cherokee, Iowa; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0013; FHL microfilm: 2340382, accessed 10/01/2018.)
They moved to Clinton Township, MN, in 1940, living in $15-per-month rental acccommodations. On 10/16/1940, Mithun was a student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He listed his permanent address with his parents in Steen, MN, a small town in the southwest corner of the state near the IA border. Steen was located within the boundaries of Clinton Township. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Minnesota, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 157, accessed 02/14/2024.)
While he was in the US Navy, he and Ruth spent a part of 1945 in Holland, MI. They had a house at 91 West 18th Street. (See Holland, Michigan, City Directory, 1945, p. 155.)
In 1948, he and his wife lived at 5116 Brighton Street in Seattle, WA. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1948, p. 940.)
Parents
Sigurd O. Mithun (born 07/16/1882in Norway-d. 09/26/1975 in Ramsey County, MN), Omer's father, worked as a bookkeeper for a ban in 1920 and an auditor for a bank and lumber yard in 1930. (He managed a lumber yard in Clinton, MN, in 1940.) According to the US Census of 1930, he immigrated to the US from Norway in 1903, although US Customs documents indicated that he arrived aboard the S.S. Oceanic from Liverpool, England, on 08/20/1903. This document recorded that he and Louis Martin Mithun (born c. 1875 in Norway) arrived in the US from Bergen, Norway. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation, Year: 1903; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 0385; Line: 18; Page Number: 49 accessed 10/01/2018.)
Sigurd married Omer's mother Lillian May Button (born 04/18/1894 in ND-d. 04/16/1980 in Saint Paul, MN) on 05/29/1916 in Fargo, ND. Lillian managed the household.
She and Sigurd had three children, Omer, James Oliver Mithun (born 04/23/1927 in Marcus, IA-d. 03/23/1966 in Marin County, CA), and Rosemary June Mithun Gustafson, (born 10/02/1928 in Marcus, IA-d. 11/17/2014 in North Saint Paul, MN). Both James and Rosemary attended the University of MN, like Omer.
Spouse
He married Ruth Eleonore Trueblood (born 03/24/1919-d. 04/13/2009 in King County, WA) on 04/23/1943 in Washington, DC. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. District of Columbia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1810-1953 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 02/14/2024.)
After Omer's death, she married Donald Klopfer on 07/10/1987 in KIng County, WA.
Biographical Notes
Mithun's World War II draft registration card of 10/16/1940 listed him as standing 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He was listed as being Caucasian with a light complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.
SSN: 473-20-0943.
PCAD id: 2372
