On June 20th 2026, David William (Dave) Rohde of Durham, North Carolina died at the age of 82, of complications from pancreatic cancer.
He is missed by his wife of 59 years, Barbara Marie Rohde, as well as his children Jennie Dailey-O’Cain (of Halifax, Canada) and Maggi Rohde (of Ann Arbor, Michigan). He is also missed by his grandchildren Ivy and Dexter Idzikowski (both of Ann Arbor, Michigan).
He was born in Buffalo, New York, on June 4th, 1944, as the only child of Margaret and William Rohde. He attended Saint Mary’s Catholic High School, did his undergraduate studies in political science at Canisius College, and did his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.
Professionally, Dave was a world-renowned specialist in American politics who served as a professor of political science at Michigan State University beginning in 1970. He moved to Durham in 2005 to take up a position as the Ernestine Friedl Distinguished Professor at Duke University. He was best known for his research center on Political Institutions and Public Choice (PIPC), which he led both at Michigan State and at Duke, as well as dozens of books and many dozens of research articles. He retired in 2020.
Personally, he was a great lover of baseball, and after his retirement, he enjoyed both traveling to Baltimore to watch the Orioles play and managing four fantasy baseball teams of his own. He loved good food and good wine, travel, Broadway theater (he especially loved the musical “Come From Away”), science fiction, spending time with his grandchildren, and puns. He was also an avid reader who especially enjoyed the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child.
At the request of both Dave and the family, no public service will be held.