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Russell Garth Campbell – What a life!
Russ had lived an interesting life in what he would describe as an interesting time. He was born in Jamaica July 30, 1940. He experienced childhood in a postcard perfect setting complete with proper British influences and grew up close to settings that were used for famous gatherings. He was excited when he learned that the filming of the James Bond movie Dr. No would take place just a few miles from where he grew up.
Russ and his mum Agnes moved to Canada when Russ was 15. He enrolled in a Toronto high school and got his experience his first Canadian winter while wearing only his wind breaker. He quickly became fascinated with Canadian sports and became an avid Leaf hockey fan. Russ had heard about North American football and was intrigued. Fortunately, his high school had a football team and so Russ joined. Unfortunately, that team had a severe shortage of players so Russ found himself playing both offensive and defensive positions in every game. Playing school sports was one of the things that helped him adjust to his new life.
Russ was also interested in history and the military. That led him to join the Canadian reserves as a teenager and allowed him to spend his summers working at several Ontario military bases.
Russ had an easy time in finding a lifelong partner. It turned out that the girl of his dreams lived next door. Denise and Russ made an easy connection – both were British teenage immigrants and both excited by the prospects of a new life in Canada. They dated for 4 years, married in June of 1962, and their life marriage endured 62 entertaining years. They did not have a long time to themselves as they welcomed their first child David Russell into the world in September 1963 and quickly followed that with the birth of their second child Athony Richard (Tony) in May of 1965.
Russ watched his children attend high school in Burlington and later university and college. Seeing David marry Michelle St. Pierre and Tony marry Jeannette Mason set him at ease that his boys were capable of making wise decisions. Russ enjoyed all of the time that he was able to spend with his two daughters-in-law… they had fun with him, challenged him and added a completely new dimension to his life. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and annual birthday get-togethers would never be the same again.
Every once in awhile Russ and Denise were able to get away to a tropical destination to take a break from serious life. They also participated in the unique Canadian experience of travelling through beautiful Atlantic Canada.
Russ was always interested in technology, and this interest prompted him to seek employment in the brand-new IT world that emerged in the 60’s and early 70’s. He programmed with punch cards and spent long hours with IBM technicians to correct problems with the massive mainframe computers that crammed enormous rooms and filled hundreds of reels of magnetic tape reels.
With a young family to support Russ realized that education was his best bet to gain a higher standard of living. Throughout the 60’s and 70’s Russ took night school classes and eventually accomplished his end goal – a full Canadian General Accountant (CGA) designation. He was able to rise through the ranks at several companies and realized his goal of becoming a corporate vice president when he assumed the role of VP of finance at Versa Foods, a company that he worked over 20 years. Russ was later able to combine his knowledge of IT and expertise in finance when he became a freelance consultant, working for companies such as Royal Bank, Maxxam, and a company that would later become part of AT&T Canada.
Russ was a proud Canadian and was one of the smartest people that I have ever met. I remember him reading and entire set of encyclopedias over several months. He just loved to learn.
Russ had many personal passions. In his 30’s he settled down to the learn the craft of writing and wrote an unpublished short novel about an RCMP officer that was also an international agent. In retirement, Russ self published a book about the life of the pirate Henry Morgan, the adventurer who amassed a fortune and died in Jamaica. Russ wanted to set the record straight on the man’s accomplishments.
Russ also took up drawing as he found he had a natural talent for sketching and in particular reproducing faces. It was another way to quietly express himself and to learn about new arts. He was always looking to explore new hobbies.
Russ created a political discussion blog in his 50’s. Blogging was new and exciting, and Russ became a consistent writer. Conversations had a conservative bent and he had several thousand followers. His work achieved notoriety and garnered a “best of” blog nomination. It not only created a great deal of enjoyment but also kept him involved and up to date in world and government affairs. His work was noticed by several online outlets, and this resulted in an interview conducted with him by a national news outlet. Eventually, his comments were on occasion deemed “not conservative enough” by a segment of his readers, and so he closed the political blog while in his seventies.
Russ continued to research his family past and wrote several articles of history concerning Jamaica. Those writings are located in his separate blog which you can access by clicking here.
Perhaps his longest running past time was photography. He captured shots that were admired by both amateur and professional photographers. He was even able to make a small amount of money through licensing some of his images. He posted those pictures on his own segment of the photo website Flickr called “Cycroft Photo”. For those interested you can check them out by clicking here.
Russ was able to see all his grandchildren grow to become adults. He was able to participate in the young and adult lives of Sarah and Melissa, and Brent, Danielle, and Aidan. He was immensely proud of all their achievements and was particularly interested in their pastimes. Trips with the grand kids to Marineland, African Lion Safari, movies, and shows were some of the highlights of his summers. He was able to attend school concerts, dance recitals, hockey, soccer, flag football games and high school football contests. He attended all high school graduations for his grand children and watched all of their accomplishments in college and university. When his great grand son Kai was born during the first year of Covid he was secretly pleased to be able to the see the family carry through for one more generation. Russ was also grateful that he got to spend many years with the partners of his grandchildren, Sean and Victoria.
Russ was able to have a life of conversation and friendship with his sister Dianne and her husband Vernon. He also enjoyed the moments that he was able to connect with his siblings, Patsy, Donald, Grace, Bruce, Cathy and Anne. He enjoyed the visits that he experienced with his sister and brother-in-law Joy and John Paige and was delighted when he and Denise were able to visit them in England. Russ and Denise were fortunate to have nieces that kept in close contact – Gill and husband Paul, Lindsey, and husband Alex. That contact was punctuated by the visits that those families were able to make to Canada.
Russ and Denise lived in a generation when friendships lasted a lifetime. They have known their close friends since the time that they were in their teenage years and early 20’s. Countless Christmas days, barbecues, home dinners and events were shared with Lynne and Doug, Deighton and Suzanne, Peter and Peggy, Ingrid and Roland and the late Vic and Susan. Boy they had some fun!
In the last 2 years Russ battled a long list of health challenges. Diabetes, Kidney disease, cancer. Three operations, countless treatments, dialysis, and medical appointments were now part of his life. The last several months heaped on the bad news… and the pain. Many would comment that Russ’s mind was as sharp as a razor throughout his entire life. Unfortunately, his body just could not keep up.
It is sad when someone that you have known your whole life leaves. You miss the long conversations, the advice, and the friendship. But most of all you miss the knowledge that you can’t stop by to see them anymore. That is when it finally sinks in that they had a greater impact on your life than you had ever fully imagined.
If desired, memorial contributions to the Kidney Foundation would be sincerely appreciated by the family.
Arrangements entrusted to SMITH’S FUNERAL HOME, BURLINGTON, 905-632-3333
Friday March 8th 2024
Death notice for the town of: , Province: Ontario
death notice Russell Garth Campbell Friday March 8th 2024
obituaries notice Russell Garth Campbell Friday March 8th 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Russell Garth Campbell Friday March 8th 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
