Donaldson, Russell G.

Russell Griffith Donaldson

Born:  May 11, 1944  

Died:   November 16, 2024

Russell was born when the whole world was at war.  His father, Lt. Col. Donald Donaldson, a career military officer and commander of the 749^th Tank Battalion, participated in the invasion of France in 1944 and was killed in action on August 7^th while liberating the town of Loue’.  Years later a memorial was erected by the townspeople in memory of Col. Donaldson.  Russ’s widowed mother, Ruth, moved his siblings, John, Bill and Esther to Hamilton, Massachusetts, their father’s hometown. 

Russ attended public school and Shore Country Day School where his mother taught Latin until he was fourteen, when he was accepted as a scholarship student at Phillips Academy, Andover.  At Andover, Russ obtained an exceptional education, particularly in French, English, and History.  Upon graduation, he enrolled in Columbia College as a history major, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1962.

During his time at Andover and Columbia, Russ was drawn to music.  He had a fine tenor voice   and was in demand for choirs and musical productions.  He was particularly proud of his role in Twelfth Night in his senior year at Andover.  At Columbia, he was chosen for solos with the Glee Club which performed at Symphony Hall in New York City.  He  was a member of the small a capella group, “Notes and Keys.”  One of the notable members of the group was “Bowzer” of the rock group Sha Na Na.

As in the year of his birth, in 1966 the country was at war– this time in Vietnam.  Upon graduation, as Russ was not pursuing a graduate degree, he received his draft notice.  Russ was avidly interested in military history—particularly in aircraft and air combat, He applied to the Air Force.  To his dismay, his mild hay fever was a showstopper.  Disappointed, he opted for the Navy.

After basic training, he was selected, not for Officer Candidate School, but for his language skills. He was already fluent in French.  He volunteered for training in Russian but was selected for the Defense Language Institute’s Mandarin Chinese school at Presidio of Monterey in California. Immersed in the language he graduated from  the course with the Sun Yat Sen prize for proficiency.  Chinese friends of his mother complimented him on his fluency and accent.

Russ was then sent to Goodfellow Air Force base in San Angelo, Texas for training in electronic surveillance.  Love got in the way on his path to Asia.  While visiting family in Rochester he met a classmate of his cousins, Azanda Liepins, a Latvian, whose parents had left their homeland in the wake of advancing Russian troops. They had left family behind in what was now a Soviet Republic. When Russ married Azanda in 1968, the Navy reassigned him to the USS Suribachi, an ammunition ship homeported in Mayport, Florida.  Ironically, Latvia is now a NATO member and a US ally.

In the summer of 1969, the happy couple spent a few blissful months near Mayport while the ship was preparing for deployment to the Mediterranean.  Leaving in early December and returning to the States in June of 1970, Odysseus probably saw less of the Mediterranean Europe than the crew of the Suribachi—Gibraltar, the French Riviera, Barcelona, Naples, Athens, Turkey, and Crete, to name a few.

In September 1970, Russ was honorably discharged from the Navy and with Azanda returned to Massachusetts.   He worked as a tax reviewer for the IRS in Andover and was selected for a management training program.  He was also accepted by Suffolk University Law School.  In 1974, he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude and passed the Massachusetts bar exam.

The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company (now ThomsonReuters) offered Russ a position as a Legal Editor.  He accepted the job offer and moved with Azanda and the much loved, black Standard Poodle, Charlie, to Rochester, eventually settling in Fairport.  The house along the Canal offered the opportunity for walks and bicycling.  In fair weather outings along the overgrown towpath included Charlie.  Some years later, there were  two children and other Standard Poodles. 

At “Lawyers”, Russ wrote scholarly legal treatises, edited legal books, and worked on various publications used by practicing lawyers.  He passed the New York Bar Exam and added credential  to his membership in the bars of Massachusetts and the US Supreme Court.  Though he never actively practiced law, some of his analytic work would by cited by courts around the country. 

In June of 1982, Russ and Azanda welcomed the birth of son, John William.  Russ was overjoyed.  Charlie, the Poodle, was less enthusiastic as he was now 12 years old and did not want a “puppy” in the house.  When he discovered that the arrival was NOT canine, he gave a big sigh of relief and graciously accepted the new family member.   In 1984, daughter, Elizabeth (Libby for short) was born.  Russ was an enthusiastic parent attending as many school and sporting events that he could manage.  He took early flex time so that he could await the children when they came home from school and could go to after school events.  He loved reading to them and taking trips to national parks, museums, zoos, and other events.

Russ was active in the musical community.  He sang with Madrigalia, the Eastman Rochester Chorus, and various church choirs, most recently with the First Congregational Church choir. 

Russ continued his studies of military history and current matters.  He built scale models af airplanes and ships paying particular attention to accurately depict their insignia. He continued to amass a substantial library about aircraft, navy vessels, and military battles. He was unrivaled in his knowledge with family and friends asking him to critique books and movies for accuracy.

Russ retired in 2006 after 31 years, having survived the many mergers and other corporate changes.  He started writing a fictional book about the Battle of Midway.  He was delighted with his children’s accomplishments.  Both had received their master’s degrees.  John was promoted by the Air Force to Lt. Col. and selected to command a large training squadron at Offutt Air Force Base.  Libby moved from a college recruited to a college advisor at a private school in California. Both had found partners that loved and supported them.  But most of all he was delighted that they had become parents with the birth of John’s daughter, Emma, and Libby’s, Elaine–all in the last year.

During the last few years, health issues curtailed his activities, although Russ tried to rise above them.  In July, he had his first heart attack, then a series of health setbacks, and finally Russ succumbed to what nature had ordained.  He died the day after his 56^th wedding anniversary, peacefully as he had wished.

He is survived by his wife, Azanda, his son John (Julie) Donaldson, his daughter Libby (Chris) Browne, his two granddaughters, Emma Donaldson and Elaine Browne, his brother Bill (Edith) Donaldson and his sister Esther (Jerry) Ottaway, his cousins Mary Haffey Blaisdell and Ruth (Tony) Parente, and numerous nieces and nephews and their children.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on December 21, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church United Church of Christ, 26 E. Church St., Fairport, New York.