Richard Persons Russ
December 31, 1935 ~ December 19, 2008
And the wayward wind is a restless wind
A restless wind that yearns to wander
And he was born the next of kin
The next of kin to the wayward wind
~ Stan Lebowsky and Herb Newman

until we meet again

A good man, who loved his family and his friends passed from this life to the next on December 19, 2008...
our lives are richer for having know him. It is a sad evening for us as we share all of our best Dick Russ memories.

They are not dead who live
In hearts they leave behind.
~H.R.Orr 		Life is eternal;
and love is immortal;
and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
~R.W.Raymond 		Don't cry because it's over,
Smile because it happened.
~Dr. Seuss


Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin Guestbook


Richard Persons Russ of Chenango Forks

Richard Persons Russ died peacefully on December 19, at his home and in the loving care of his wife and children. His death marks the end of a short but well-fought battle with cancer, and the end of a life lived with vitality and an extraordinary desire and ability to engage others. Even in his illness, his toughest test, he did what he did best - fought until the end and built a team around him, this time of caregivers, friends new and old, and, of course, us, his family, who will miss him every day for the rest of our lives.

Dad had many roles - beloved husband to our mom Edie, father, grandfather, brother, friend. But he is best known as a teacher and football coach, both life callings that brought him purpose and joy. Dad received a BA in history from SUNY Cortland in 1963 and a Master's in 1966. He taught high school social studies for 32 years, two at Norwich and 30 at Chenango Forks. His students remember his passion for European history and exuberance in the classroom; it was not a dull place to learn.

Dad began a 40-year coaching career in 1965, as assistant coach to his friend Jerry Taylor at Chenango Forks High School. He was in charge of defense at the time and took great pride, throughout his life, in his ability as a defensive coordinator. In 1977, he became head coach at Forks, where he remained until 1995 and had a career record of 117-57-3, including 10 league or divisional championships, seven NYS Section IV finals, and five Section IV championships. His last year at Forks, Dad was named the Section IV Coach of the Year.

In 1996, after retiring from Chenango Forks, Dad became the head coach at Maine-Endwell High School, where there was not at that time a tradition of winning, but much raw talent. After two seasons at M-E, Dad took the team to a NYS Section IV championship, a NYS Central Region championship, and the NYS semi-finals. That year, 1998, he was honored as the Binghamton Press Coach of the Year and NYS Football Coach of the Year. Dad remained at M-E for eight years, resulting in seven winning seasons and a record of 49-29. His time with the program also brought him some dear friends, including Regan and Carol Beers, who have been a mainstay in Dad's recent care.

Although Dad intended to end his career at M-E, he couldn't stay away from coaching. In 2004, he joined the sprint football staff at Cornell, where he helped to coordinate the team's defense for two seasons. Although he said goodbye to coaching after 2005, he still enjoyed assisting at his grandson Blaine's practices in the Forks youth football program over the last couple of years. Dad has been loved and supported throughout his life by our Mom, with whom he celebrated a 50th anniversary last July. Their partnership was built on a shared devotion to family and friends, an ability to see and bring out the best in others, and a belief in hard work and serious fun. Dad loved nothing more than hosting large summer barbecues, and having his and Mom's home, porch, pool, and garage full of those he cared about. He would stand at the grill, over dozens of steaming clams, and exclaim how happy and lucky he was. Indeed, it was his ability to appreciate all of life's moments, and what each of us uniquely bring to them, that has provided the greatest example to us, his children, and his grandchildren. He loved the complexity of human nature, and truly believed that sometimes it is our frailties and challenges that make us most compelling and interesting to love. This was certainly the case with him.

Dad is survived by his wife, Edie; children and their spouses, Lisa Russ Swim and Dan Swim (New Milford, Conn.), Richard and Mary Russ (Castle Creek, N.Y.), Ann Russ (Rochester, N.Y.), and Amy Russ and John Webster (Ithaca, N.Y.); brother and sister-in-law, Don and Mai Russ (Charlotte, N.C.); uncle and aunt David and Arleen Russ (Baldwinsville, N.Y.); and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. He will be missed dearly by his eight grandchildren - Travis, Stephanie, and Austin Swim; Sophie and Blaine Russ; and Clara, Julia, and Louis Webster - as well as his niece, Dorinne Russ. He played a special role in each of their lives, giving endlessly of his time and affection, and teaching them to swim, fish, golf, play football and, most important, not take themselves too seriously. We know that his gentle spirit and good humor will live on in them.

Our family would like to say a special thanks to Dr. Bowling and his wonderful nurse Pam, Dr. Kloss and his associates at Broome Oncology, and the staff of 1 Ross at Lourdes Hospital for their care of Dad and our family. Making new friends at the hospital over the last few months brought Dad some fun and joy at the end of his life, and demonstrated, one last time, his remarkable skill as a community-builder.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, December 27, at 2:00 p.m., West Presbyterian Church, 80 Main Street, Binghamton. Memorial contributions may be made to Lourdes Hospice, 4102 Vestal Road, Vestal N.Y. 13850.

Published in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin on 12/21/2008 		Russ used football to teach life's lessons
Longtime coach at Forks, Maine-Endwell dies at 73
By Mike Mangan • mmangan@gannett.com • Staff Writer • December 20, 2008

His larger-than-life personality made him easy to spot at area high school football games, whether it was on the sidelines or in the bleachers.

And once one came into close contact with Dick Russ, the former Chenango Forks and Maine-Endwell football coach, one thing was very much evident. The man absolutely loved football.

"As a football coach, he lived and breathed football," said former Forks athletic director Rick Perkins, who played for Russ. "That was his life, there was no doubt about that. He was really dedicated to the sport, selling the program, not just at our school but also at M-E. He really gave a lot to the sport." Russ, 73, died Friday morning, succumbing to cancer, according to his daughter, Amy Russ of Ithaca.

He compiled a record of 166-86-3 over his 27-year head coaching career, 19 of those spent at Forks from 1977-95 and the last eight at M-E from 1996-2003. His 1998 M-E squad reached the state Class B semifinals and his 1995 Forks team advanced to the state Class B quarterfinals. In 2007, Russ was inducted into the Section 4 Hall of Fame.

Russ's impact, though, went beyond wins and losses.

"One of the things that impressed me with working with the football kids, he took chances on kids that people had given up on," said close friend Dr. Donald Nash, who served as a team physician at Forks under Russ. "He'd get them involved in the program, and make them feel like they were part of the family.

"A lot of kids at both (Forks and M-E) probably graduated because of football."

Dave Chickanosky, the longtime defensive coordinator at Forks who served under Russ, said that Russ tried to use football to instill values in kids. "He always seemed to have a soft spot in his heart for troubled kids," Chickanosky said. "He would take a kid that seemed to be on the wrong track and try to use football to maybe put him in the right direction. He seemed to do that time and time again."

As an undergraduate student at Cortland State, Russ was introduced to coaching in 1962 by Gerry Taylor, the head coach at Russ's alma mater, Mount Upton. He helped out Taylor coaching eight-man football at Mt. Upton for several seasons before following Taylor to Forks in 1966 when Taylor hired as the Blue Devils' head coach.

Russ served as Taylor's defensive coordinator before taking over as Forks head coach in 1977 when Taylor stepped down to concentrate on his duties as high school principal.

Taylor had little doubt Russ would enjoy success as a head coach.

"He was an outstanding defensive coach, I don't know if anybody can argue with that," Taylor said. "I always thought he was one of the best defensive coaches you could ask for. He was a great teacher of the skills, and that was a strong, strong, point."

During Russ's 19-year head coaching stint at Forks, the Blue Devils went 117-57-3. Russ stepped down as head coach following the 1995 season, replaced by Kelsey Green, having earlier in the year retired after 31 years as a social studies teacher at Forks.

The next year, Russ became head coach at M-E, where he took over a Spartans program that had won a total of four games in the three years prior to his arrival and compiled a 49-29 record over eight seasons.

John Frieser, a 2000 M-E graduate who later played tight end at Colgate University and with the Berlin Thunder of the now-defunct NFL Europe, remembered the excitement he felt when he learned that Russ would be M-E's head coach.

"When I was growing up, we were never consistently good, we were struggling as a program," said Frieser, who served as a volunteer coach for M-E this past fall. "I wondered what it would be like when I was finally playing varsity football."

"He was a great guy to play for. In all my experiences playing football, I don't know if I've had anybody with more enthusiasm than him. Everybody fed off his energy, people were excited about going to practice, doing the little things."

Even coaching adversaries held Russ in the highest of regards. Walton coach Jim Hoover, Section 4's all-time winningest coach, annually went up against Russ's Forks teams when the two were Susquenango Association rivals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Whatever the outcome was, Russ was always the same towards Hoover.

"He was always very nice, very kind to me, and he was always willing to share knowledge," Hoover said. "His teams were always well prepared, and he would always wish you luck, before and after the games. He was a class act." Away from football, Russ was an avid hunter and fisherman. Apparently, his enthusiasm and attention to detail were not limited to the football field. "Dick was one of the best trout fisherman I knew," Nash said. "He was an observant guy who could figure out when the fish were hatching, no matter how many times we'd go down there.

"It'd get to 9 p.m., and I'm ready to leave because I can't see anymore, and Dick's still out there and he'd catch another three or four fish." Nash later summed up Russ.

"He had a good perspective on everything in life. There were a lot of things he was interested in, and he took great enjoyment in everything he did -- football, hunting, fishing -- and he was such a gregarious guy that he wanted to make everyone there experiencing things with him to had just as much as fun as he had."

Russ is survived by his wife Edie, daughters Amy, Ann, and Lisa, son Richard, and eight grandchildren, according to Amy. Funeral arrangements are still pending, though a memorial service is planned for Dec. 27 at a place to be determined, Amy said.