2022: GENTLEMAN, SCHOLAR AND ACTIVIST FOR THE COMMON MAN - Dr. Tony Russell Has Died

(12/31/2025)

Jan. 2022/By Bob Weaver Dr. Tony Russell, 81, has died in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was a former resident of Calhoun County. Russell, ignoring his impressive educational credentials, listed his life experiences on his web page: "A naturalist, gardener, poet, photographer, and peace activist, he has worked as a carhop, as a busboy, as foreman of a crew clearing fire lanes, as a day care provider, as an Upward Bound director, as an advocate for senior citizens, as manager of an apartment complex, as a laborer in a glass factory, as a teacher and school administrator, and as an outreach worker for a health care center. He also served--many years ago--as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa." He was also a coon hunter. Russell would be on my top ten list of outstanding human beings I have met in my lifetime. While I could write pages about the man, I recall a fascinating experience from his college days. He made J. Edgar Hoovers secret list of a million or so US citizens of people to watched, a subversive character. While attending college at Marshal University, he joined groups that protested for the civil rights movement and was an anti-war activist. The FBI created a dossier on Russell, interviewing individuals of his acquaintance. For a decade he wrote a column for the Hur Herald called "Of Principalities and Powers." God rest his quiet and gentle soul.

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