Keith Russell

Keith Russell was born in Andover, Ohio and raised in Ashtabula. His father, Ford B. Russell, was president of Farmers National Bank. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. One week after graduation, he was married to Marjorie Miriam Wilkins. One week after they were married, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Keith volunteered for the Navy shortly thereafter, and was commissioned as an officer in 1942. He served honorably during WWII, including a stint as commander of a "Sub Chaser" boat in the Pacific, prior to his discharge in 1945. An Investment Broker and longtime partner of McDonald and Company by trade, Keith Russell was also the quintessential sportsman in the realm of Hunting and Fishing. He has fished all over the world, from the Grand Pascopedia and Restigouche rivers in Canada to the Patagonia River in Argentina. He has hunted big game in the African Safari three times. His passion for the outdoors was exemplified in the five published and successful books he authored throughout his life still available for purchase at Amazon.com: - "Fly Fishingest Gentleman" - "Sex and Fly Fishers" - "Duck Huntingest Gentleman" - "Here's How, Now" - "For Whom the Bell Tolls" duck hunting Keith was on the Board of Directors for the following organizations: a�� Trout Unlimited 20 years a�� Ducks Unlimited 20 years a�� The African Wildlife Foundation Keith's idea for a commemerative rifle turned out to be the largest fund raising success that Ducks Unlimited has ever had, raising over seven figures for the organization. Keith Russell is survived by his loving wife, of Marjorie Russell nee Wilkins and his daughter, Jacqueline Russell of Glynden, MD, who is an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in his name to Trout Unlimited, 1300 N 17th St, Ste. 500, Arlington, VA 22209 or to the Atlantic Salmon Federation, P. O. Box 807, Calais, ME 4619. Memorial Services will be held at 11am on Saturday, January 23 in the chapel of Fairmount Presbyterian Church, 2757 Fairmount Boulevard, Cleveland Hts, OH 44118. From Jacqueline Russell: My Dad My father was, first and formost, a fisherman. But there are stories to tell. He had a few favorite sayings that he repeated throughout his life that revealed the way he looked at life. Here are a few: 1. "I'd rather be lucky than anything" - and. Wow was he. 2. "Not too shabby" - when he thought something was pretty great. 3. "I've been better and I've been worse!" - standard answer to how are you? 4. "Perfect!"- alternate answer when asked how he was. 4. "Just another lousy day in paradise! "- said every morning at home in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico 5. "Watch your back!" - said to me at the end of every conversation I had with him. He never stopped trying to protect me. 6. "Whatever's fair" - his version of "whatever." 7." Adiós! "- always, instead of goodby 8. "Super!" Most everything was to him. 9. "No way jose! He could be stubborn! 10. Nighty boo" - said to me instead of good night. 11. "Right on!" He could be hip, too. 12. "Yippee skippee!" Or cornet. My father was a fisherman! After seeing the movie Dead Poet Society, he established the Dead Flyfisher Society to honor and celebrate by gone fly fishers who have moved on to even better salmon streams. It is with anguish and pride that my Dad is now a true member of that eliite and special group he thought should be honored. "Carpe diem" was life philosophy- I've never met anyone who got joy from things both great and small. While a formal obituary would discuss his marriage to his beauty queen college sweetheart, service as a lieutinent in the navy in the south pacific as the commander of a sub chaser, a career in investment banking and years of service to the United Way, not to mention an unfortnate history with the game of golf that ended when my mother met him, he was much much more than that. First memory that my father was different from other more traditional fathers was when he visited me at college on his return from safari in Africa. Long hair, tan, stories of great adventure that captivated both me and my college friends. And it hooked me, permanently, on a love of africa and it's wildlife and people. Passion for conservation grew out of those safaries, of which there were many- service for 20 years on the board of the African wildlife foundation. There he became friends with icons such as Jimmy Stuart and George Plimpton. He also served on other conservation boards such as Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited. It was for DU that he made what was his biggest contribution. To charity- he figured out and implemented a fee on the purchase of rifles that would ultimately garner over 700 Million for DU. Recognizing a niche that needed to be filled he singlehandedly established the Canvasback Duck Society to raise funds to protect habitat for a species in trouble. In between all of this he managed to write five Books on duck hunting and fly fishing, my personal favorite title being Sex and the Flyfisher, complete with illustrations! He discovered the good life in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, where he and my mother had a home hanging on a cliff overlooking the Pacific for many years. "Just another lousy day in paradise." Mexico - he loved speaking Spanish- adiós became his favorite word. But it was his discovery of atlantic fishing that formed the great joy and passion of his retirement years. I was lucky enough to understand this passion when I went with him a few years ago to the Restigiush river in New Brunswick, Canada. I had the awsome experience of easily seeing hundreds of endangered fish easily seen just below the surface. I was privileged to be in the canoe with him when he caught his last salmon, a beauty of a 35 pounder! He had this amazing appreciation of the small things in life too ... He whisted happy tunes on the way to his radiation treatments for his cancer. One repeated endlessly was "hey look me over, lend me an ear ..." He loved just watching the birds from his and my mother's breakfast nook. The most important part of his life though was the 70-year love story with my mother. He was simply crazy about her and never stopped adoring her. He sang to her at bedtime He never wanted to be far from her side. He gave her endless mini backrubs through the day. Why aren't more men like my Dad? "Tight lines," Dad, and remember, it's just another lousy day in paradise. Adiós, and nighty boo.


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