Deceased October 10, 2012
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In Memory
Russ shared our experience at Amherst for just his freshman and sophomore years of college, but it made an impression on him; he loved his time in New England and at Amherst. He did chafe under the no-car stipulation (but not too much; he kept a car in Al Lumley's barn—you all remember him, that notorious "renegade" enforcer of College policy). He also sought a co-educational experience, and Russ transferred to the University of Colorado in 1956, graduated with a B.A. in English in 1958. He began a 10-year teaching stint at his St. Louis alma mater, leaving finally to attend Harvard and earn a master's in education in 1969. After the bustle of Boston he was eager to return to the Rocky Mountains, and he took a teaching position at Graland Country Day School in Denver. He joined the administrative ranks, becoming head of middle school and worked there through 1979. He left Graland to join a start-up school in Evergreen, Colorado, an effort that ultimately fell short on funding, but it was an exciting experience for him. Then came two years in Dusseldorf, Germany, as head of American International Upper School.
Throughout his life Russ was an inveterate traveler. First touring Europe by motorbike in 1955, he developed a love of the continent, its cultures, and its languages that would last a lifetime. He began taking groups of students to Europe in the early 1960s and continued this throughout his teaching career. In 1980 when he joined American International School in Duesseldorf, any free weekend or vacation could be filled with piling the family into the VW and striking out for his favorite haunts in all of the surrounding countries. It proved to be a very happy and memorable time for the family.
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| Carol and Russ |
They all returned to Colorado in 1982. Russ worked briefly as a freelance writer and consultant but longed to be back in education. Ultimately, he took a position at the Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas, where he taught ninth and tenth grade English until he retired in 1993. Returning to Estes Park, Colorado, he continued live an active life, traveling widely and leading small groups of adults on tours in Europe and bringing groups of European friends over here for tours of the American West.
In 2011, due to declining health, Russ moved to Portland, Oregon, to be closer to his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. Living at sea level made life considerably easier, and he enjoyed a very active and vital year there, passing away October 10, 2012, of a heart attack.
His Amherst classmates remember a classic spring-break road trip to the Rockies, six very different 18-year-olds headed west—Bissell, Bill Hannemann, Miller Brown, Tracy Wiggin, Dave Scott and Dick Franck—and then returning to their diverging paths. Russ bought the car for $60, they encountered blizzards in both directions, put on chains, and stayed on the road by driving between the power lines on either side. At one tiny hotel, they gave up their second room to a bedraggled family that came in after them.
Russ came to Amherst in the first place in part because Robert Frost spent a couple of weeks on the Amherst campus each year. During a recruiting meeting at Russ's high school in St. Louis, he asked President Cole about opportunities for student exposure to Mr. Frost as Russ was a devoted fan. Russ's notes tell of bumping into President Cole freshman year in the Amherst hardware store and was startled to hear Cole's secretary had been trying to reach him. It seems he had recalled my interest in the poet, and they needed a pinch-hit driver for Frost around Amherst and around New England for his two-week visit. The regular devotee, Jack Hagstrom '55, was apparently sick at the time. Borrowing the car of the head of the English department, Russ had the privilege of driving the bard hither and yon, and the delight of learning he talked constantly, even en route to a speaking engagement. Frost's conversation was versatile, fascinating and vital. Among other subjects he discussed was his fondness for Boulder, his interest in Russ's proposed transfer, and in the fact that he was one of only three non-fraternity independents at Amherst. Russ, in fact, had been struggling whether to withdraw from rush, and Frost observed to Russ that he had "often left one place or activity, never from querulousness, always in pursuit, never in escape."
Russ decided to stay independent, and he lived out Frost's counsel until he passed away.
Hendrik D. Gideonse '58