David T. Russell

David Russell

April 25, 1929 - February 22, 2015

David Trader Russell was born on April 25, 1929, in Indiana, PA, the youngest child of Eugenia Rhea Trader and Arthur Jasper Russell. He graduated from the Laboratory School (K-10) in Indiana, PA, and high school at Kiski in Saltsburg, PA.

David married the love of his life, Penny Stephens, on May 26, 1951. Soon after the marriage, he graduated from Bucknell University and was drafted into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As an aerial photogrammetrist in Germany during the Cold War, Corporal Russell and Penny were stationed in Wiesbaden, where daughter Cheryl was born, and later in Kaiserslautern. Returning to Indiana, PA, in 1953 he helped establish the first aerial-mapping unit for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. He then went on to represent Retail Credit Company and later became credit manager for Brody’s Department Store, both in Indiana, PA. During this time, his son David was born.

In 1962 the family moved to Sewickley, PA, where David and Penny began new careers as teachers in the Quaker Valley School District, he in social studies and Penny in art. David loved teaching history and world cultures. His classes were lively and his students enjoyed his acerbic humor. He received an M.Ed from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1965 and additional postgraduate studies at the University of Colorado and Utah State University. Summer camping trips took the family over much of North America. David was an avid chess player, had a passion for organization, and wrote a draft of this obituary and left it on his computer to be discovered by his children.

David was known for his kind spirit, generosity, and offbeat sense of humor. In the 1970s, David and Penny took over her father’s Christmas tree farm near Dilltown, PA. Upon retiring from teaching in 1986, they relocated to Wee Hoose and Pine-Sylvania Tree Farm where they raised Colorado Blue Spruce. They were active in the Cambria & Indiana Trail Council, helping to establish the Ghost Town Trail. With business partner, Cindy Gilmore, they founded Dillweed Bed & Breakfast in Dilltown. In 1995 David and Penny donated their land to the Indiana County Parks to establish the 675-acre Blacklick Valley Natural Area. In 1999 they moved to Beaufort, SC, where they enjoyed living near two of their three grandchildren. In 2013 they returned home to western Pennsylvania, to the Sherwood Oaks Retirement Community in Cranberry Township. After Penny’s death in 2014, David soldiered on but sorely missed his wife of 63 years.

David is survived by his daughter, Cheryl Ann Russell, of Beaufort, SC (Rick Eckstrom: Sky Eckstrom and Julie Eckstrom) and their son, David Stephens Russell, of St. Paul, MN (Martha Martin Russell: Alison Russell (Eric Hoeger)). David was predeceased by his parents, his brother Berwyn Hall Russell, and his sister Barbara Russell Husted. He will be missed not only by family and friends, but also by his cats Shadow and Sox.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to support the Blacklick Valley Natural Area. Donations should be mailed to: Community Foundation of the Alleghenies, Somerset Trust Building, 116 Market Street, Suite 4, Johnstown, PA 15901.