We celebrated our Dad’s life on Sunday and buried our Dad’s ashes today.  Thank you to everyone who joined us to share in a moment together in his memory.  As part of his burial services on Monday, we shared the following – a series of stories and memories of who he was as a human through eyes of those he loved. 
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After our Dad passed in October, we received many thoughtful messages that we deeply cherished, which centered around a few common themes…

•  He was a good man

•  He accomplished a lot in his lifetime – never one to settle, never one to rest when there was work to be done and goals to be achieved.

•  And, he was very proud of his family.

As we gather today to remember our Dad, we thought it would be nice illustrate his impact, through the eyes of those who loved him.

We first we heard from Shannon’s friend, Rebecca Herbst Osborne.

[Rebecca shared] a very vivid memory of her, Shannon, me and my friend, Gail Flohrs, all in the back seat of the family sedan with your dad driving us to Wells to see a movie at the theater. We were being loud and crazy, but he just rolled with it.

Rebecca goes on to say “the reason this epitomizes him as a dad is that he would do anything to make you kids happy—including spending a night chaperoning four obnoxious girls to a movie.”

We also have so many memories of endless (and probably thankless) hours he spent coaching sports teams, traveling to games all over the state, driving to see us or bringing us home for a weekend while at college, and creating a life of simple but special traditions. This includes his trademark meals: pancakes & waffles, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and our special Saturday morning breakfast treats at the Lake Café – banana cream pie and a Mountain Dew. We also took memorable trips together – most notably the six of us, in a motorhome for a month – seeing all the sites between MN and California. So many memories of that trip and only an ambitious mind would have thought to attempt this in 1984.

Our Dad was always there for us – strong & steady, guiding us to make good decisions, challenging us to create the best possible lives for ourselves.  He dreamed big for us, he sacrificed for us, and he steered us to prosperity and happiness.

Russ, the devoted father.

Along these lines of our Dad as a dedicated family man, we heard from Brad & Sharon Powell. Sharon commented that …

Russ was always the “go-to” when Ray & Beaulah needed support, especially in the later years.  He not only responded when they needed assistance, he anticipated what they were in need of, before they had to ask for it.  No matter the distance or time of year, he was there.

Russ, the good son.

We also heard from Brad & Sharon’s daughter, Erin…

Erin remembers our Dad as the perfect godfather.  With only one exception, our Dad, as her godfather, attended every sacrament she received – Baptism in Apple Valley, First Communion in Tampa, Confirmation in Texas and her wedding in Nashville.  

Brad & Sharon went on to say that “they knew that if anything ever happened to them, Erin would be looked after by Russ.”

Russ, the thoughtful uncle

Randy shared with me the special relationship our Dad had with Nathan and Adam.

Russ beamed with pride when talking about and cherished spending time with the boys. He relished the three-generation trips to Florida, California, and Hawaii, where Nathan and our Dad split a Hula pie and bond over a shared sweet tooth. Our parents would take Nathan and Adam on trips to obscure Midwest sites such as the Spam museum and to see the 17,000-pound ball of twine in Darwn, MN. It was only with Grandma and Grandpa that they boys would have been such good sports to see these sites including a train trip from Minneapolis to Chicago that left Nathan and Adam with a permanent aversion to trains. But they all enjoyed the time spent together and memories were always made and cherished.

Nathan also shared a wonderful story of his grandpa.

Grandpa and Nathan would often go ice fishing together. Nathan got to be the guy jigging the lure and Grandpa had the spear. When they caught a really big fish, Grandpa let Nathan name the lucky lure. Nathan chose to call the lure Franklin. They continued to use the name Franklin ever since and Nathan said it was one of the most perfect days that the two of them spent together.

Adam also shared how much it meant to him that Grandpa was always so supportive of his sports adventures – whether that be playing together or as a spectator.

Russ, the loving and adventurous grandpa

We reached out to several of our Dad’s colleagues, including Anne Becker and Jeff Holt.

Anne describes how our Dad spent his early years at Nordaas American Homes. 

She said he would spend endless hours hunched over the drafting board in the Architectural Department. Anne indicated his motivation was clear – he worked as hard as he did to make the best life possible for his family.  His hard work got noticed and Anne said she was so happy to see him be recognized with promotions and new positions.

Anne spoke or our Dad’s architectural abilities, saying they were phenomenal, and he was the “go-to” source when any of the fourteen draftsmen had questions or required assistance with projects. He easily ran circles around the textbooks.

We also heard from Jeff Holt, with whom our Dad worked with at Wells Concrete Products for many years.  Jeff said,

Russ was always the guy to take on the complicated projects without complaining, which Jeff says he always admired. Russ’ work ethic was second to none, he had a gift to put a construction drawing in 3D in his mind like no other. He was humble and easy going with a great sense of humor.

Russ, the brilliant mind and consummate professional

There was a theme developing as we heard from many family & friends speak about our Dad’s advice and help with various house-related projects.  This includes Vern Voss and friends, Jim & Edie More.

Vern tells the story of our Dad visiting their house and sharing an idea to have their roof arched and cantilevered over a portion of our porch. It made our living area so much more enjoyable to view the birds and the lake. And it never would have crossed their mind until our Dad brought it up.

Our Dad was always thinking about different ways to do things.  Jim & Edie shared similar thoughts that our Dad was their trusted advisor for all kinds of building projects. They said…

We have always respected Russ for his knowledge of construction and had gone to him many times to get his opinion of details, be it wood framing construction or masonry.  His answers were always good practical answers as he “had been there”. He always had ideas of how to do things in unusual or special situations too and sometimes added a bit of humor to his answers. He was fun to consult.

Russ, the architect and the carpenter

We also heard from Sharon Powell and Tom Holmes about the type of guy our Dad was - …

Sharon shared a story about a house move involving a second story apartment and a massive sofa sleeper…it sounded terrible but made for one heck of a memory.

Tom Holmes shared…

Not enough to say about Russ, he was my mentor and friend for many years. When I needed help, he was there, when I needed advice he was there.

Russ, the person who was always there when you needed him

We also heard about the tremendous impact our Dad had on the communities that he lived in, particularly Minnesota lake. Friends, Anne Becker, and Jim & Edie More shared numerous stories.

First, something that always sticks out for me is the time our Dad would invest in the planning, preparing for, and constructing the Festag Food Stand.  Every single year. He did this out of a sense of responsibility because the food stand raised money for the town, and that was important to him.

Making Minnesota Lake the best town it could be to raise a family was very important to our Dad.

Jim & Edie spoke of how he scoffed at the pithy request of a $5 donation to build the tennis courts – and upped the amount to $50 and $100.  He was not about to waste time asking for $5. He went big, and you know what, it worked.

Anne Becker shared multiple stories – many of which were new to me – about how our Dad was a visionary leader and a champion for change. She beautifully described her time working with our Dad as a member of the City Council and during his time as the Mayor of Minnesota Lake. Anne articulated that his mind performed best when focused into the future, based upon learning from the past when it came to making decisions for the town. There was a period of time where the Council researched and discussed extensively, plans for “gifting” the School district pieces of land in Minnesota Lake to enlarge the existing school or to construct a new school entirely. He also conceptualized a second proposal to construct the track and field complex for the school.

Russ lined up bids, drawings, expert opinions, and promoters. He crafted the proposal and worked hard to champion for change. Regardless of the outcome Anne spoke of how it was inspiring to watch him put so much effort and creativity into such well-conceived projects with the best interests of the city and the future generations in mind.

Russ, the community leader

There were many comments and stories shared about three houses that our Dad built.

Anne Becker spoke of our house in Minnesota Lake as being unlike anything she’d seen in the 70’s.

Russ had a knack for outdoing most anyone with the ability to design and create new floor plans, new housing concepts and originalism.  Not many who have been in the Powell house in Minnesota Lake, refrained from remarking on “what he was thinking when he designed that home!” Once again, his foresight abilities reigned.

Many of us remember the construction of the Waterville house. Let’s start with the good….

Anne described it as a house for those who like to live dangerously! Russell (I think Annie is the only person I’ve heard refer to my Dad as Russell), built into the sky…the capabilities of the load bearing walls and levels used for construction were remarkable. Anne recalled the time when her father, Tom, who was a mentor to our Dad, came to see the new house.  Russell and Tom climbed the stairs, so that Russell could show Tom some new thoughts, angles, and ideas that he had put into the staircase, the second floor, and the view of the lake.  Russell often said that Anne’s dad, Tom had taught him a good share of his knowledge base while working together at Prestress, but after that house tour, Tom remarked to Anne “Where did that young lad come up with the ideas he  built into that house!”

Randy, Michelle, James, and Shannon also shared stories of the Waterville construction including:

Setting up scaffolding three stories high amidst snowfall in February.

Conquering any fear of heights and thinking so many times “this is crazy” but we persevered.

Shannon & Michelle donning homemade hazmat suits to spray bleach all over the concrete basement.

No one wants to remember building the 30-foot-tall retaining wall, especially James & Richard.

We like to say our Dad has his very own construction crew - four building assistants that increased to six the addition of Randy & Casey and between this ragtag crew, we only had four trips to the emergency room during that project (two of which were James).

Russ, the ambitious mind and perfectionist

A lifelong passion for our Dad was golf, and we heard stories from Jeff Holt, Randy Strobel, and Tom Holmes about playing with our Dad.  They said…

Russ had a deep respect for the game.  He knew all the rules, and there was no cheating allowed.  He had lots of little traditions including often repeating the phrase “chip & a putt”, the latter of which was his least favorite part of the game but nonetheless, he counted every stroke.

I also learned from Tom that our Dad’s motto was to always play golf with shorts on, no matter how cold.  Randy told us our Dad would say “if you can’t wear shorts, you probably shouldn’t be golfing”.

Randy and Tom confirmed the stories of our Dad carrying a small bottle of Winsor in his golf bag. He called this his “aiming fluid”.  He’d buy a bottle of soda, drink some of it, and add the aiming fluid on the first tee.

Randy said he got to see our Dad’s temper in living color but at the same time, the joy he had in playing with family and friends.

Russ, the avid golfer 

Two final stories to round out who our Dad was through memories of loved ones.

We heard from his friend Bob Hahn about a random conversation he had with Richard, Rich Honstead, and our Dad about how much Bob would love to go to Wrigley field before it is torn down. As Bob tells it…

The following February, out of the blue, Russ called me with some dates & asked which one I wanted. I chose the Cardinals & Cubs in July. About 2 months later, I received an email stating the dates we needed to be in Chicago & where we were staying. You could say that due to Russ, I was able to take an item off my bucket list.

Russ, the planner 

Jim & Edie More also shared a few memories of the type of friend our Dad was to them and so many

They spoke fondly of pick-up basketball games and summer softball leagues including a “recruiting” trip to Wells that ended up in Open Bottle citations for Jim, Richard, Ray Becker, and Rick O’Rourke.

They also spoke of our Dad’s good sense of humor. They said he always injected a funny side to a sometimes-serious subjects.  But, he especially liked picking on Richard Staloch.  Whatever Richard’s stance was on a topic, Russ would take the opposite side and start an argument.  Richard was good at taking the heat but sometimes it worked, that is brought out a good argument. 

Russ, the good friend who liked a good joke

A few final thoughts from Vern Voss, Jeff Holt, and Bonne Hanson round out the memories including…

Vern saying “He was such a good guy and we will always remember him for his being so nice”.

Jeff Holt sharing “He was one of a kind and was very gifted”. 

And lastly, Bonnie Hanson described our Dad as the following: “His sparkling eyes, his beautiful smile, and his fun wit are some of the many things that warm our hearts and will never be forgotten.”

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Reflecting back nearly three years ago, our Dad was the healthiest and strongest man I knew at his age. It’s also why his diagnosis was so devastating.  We all expected him to be here for 20 more years.

When our Grandmother was diagnosed with COVID, my first thought was that our Dad is with Grandpa and Karen, preparing for Grandma’s arrival.  And when Grandma passed a few months later, I knew our Dad was with the three of them, making sure they were all good in the afterlife…taking care of them as he always did in this life. 

In his life, our Dad raised us to be good humans, to be successful adults, and to make sure we would always take good care of our Mom, as he always did for her and for us.

I like to think our Dad passed into the next life knowing his work on this earth was done.  He’s onto the next life, building another house for our family, and planning the next adventure for us.

We love you and we miss you.