Bob Russell has sang in a church choir and won a Canadian boxing championship. He's fought a losing Liberal battle in a Conservative province and adeptly served St. Albert for 12 years on different city councils.
He may be as galvanizing a presence as St. Albert has seen in recent decades, with his outspoken political views and his stream of letters to the editor. And if his critics – and supporters – think his retirement as a realtor means he's stepping back from politics or other endeavours, think again.
Last month the 81-year-old Russell announced that after 30 years as a realtor, he was retiring from Realty Executives. He has been a realtor off and on since the 1960s, dabbling in other sales-related jobs along the way.
But readers of the Gazette could go back over almost 50 years of newspapers and again and again Russell's name would come up, not because of his real estate expertise or his development companies, but because of his politics.
Politically, Russell first came to prominence by running for the Alberta Liberal Party leadership in 1966. He lost that election and although he would take on the Liberal leadership mantle in 1969, he never won a seat in the Alberta legislature or the House of Commons. He's lost more provincial and federal elections than most, but publicly and privately he's never changed his socks or his philosophy and he's never stopped fighting for his version of what's right.
"I once had an invitation to join the Conservatives. I couldn't do it. I will say though that I thought Lougheed did a good job, but philosophically I'm Liberal," Russell said.
Early years
Though his parents were farmers from the Burns Lake area in north central British Columbia, Russell was born in 1930, in California, where his father, a First World War vet, was taking a course. Russell lived until he was 14 on the B.C. farm. Then his father enlisted to serve in the Second World War and the family moved to be near him in Lethbridge, where he was posted as a guard at a German prisoner-of-war camp.
Perhaps Russell learned his fighting ways in those school years because he was a boxer and a good enough hockey player to play at the junior level. He won the Canadian welterweight boxing championship in his last year of high school.
Although neither of his parents was involved in politics, the dinner table discussions were always lively and fostered an interest in community involvement.
"I have four siblings and we're all politically active. My Dad was a world traveller who served in two world wars. My sister's an NDPer in Vancouver. We had squabbles, absolutely, but we still love each other."
In 1949 he had a choice: play hockey in Whitehorse or take a job in the dispatch department at Canadian Pacific Airlines. He went with the steady job that evolved until he was involved in planning the loading and fuelling of airplanes. He was transferred to Vancouver, where he was involved with setting the load requirements for the Korean airlift.
Russell met his wife Joanne and they were married in 1954 in Vancouver.
The family moved to St. Albert in 1963 and ever since, Bob and Joanne have lived in the same home, which they purchased for $17,000 in Grandin Park. Their three children attended school here and all of them still live in Alberta.
Russell left the airlines and worked for a while in public relations and soon afterwards began selling real estate, which has been his main profession ever since.
Political ups and downs
In 1967 Russell was elected as a trustee and served two years on the St. Albert Protestant School Board.
"I learned to campaign on issues. You cannot be a one-issue politician. I also learned to listen to the concerns that people had. I learned to knock on doors and listen to people," he said.
Russell regrets never being elected at a provincial or federal level.
"I thought I'd do a great job if I had been. I was especially concerned about the way royalties are dispersed in this province. And still, I cannot believe what's happened to our health care system. I wanted to be in politics because I always believed you can't do anything from the outside," Russell said.
Russell was first elected as a local alderman in 1989 and served a total of 12 years on different city councils.
"I enjoyed city council because you can see things happen."
Former mayor Paul Chalifoux admired Russell's tenaciousness when he took on a cause, but found working with him to be a challenge when they were on opposite sides of issues.
"Once he adopted a cause he was aggressive in bringing it forward and sticking with it. I credit his focus and doggedness, even though I didn't agree with him. If you disagreed with Bob it was a challenging situation," Chalifoux recalled.
At age 69 Russell took on another side job, paralegal work, and he intends to continue with it because he likes helping people. Recent paralegal cases include two workers' compensation cases, several insurance cases and legal issues for different condominium associations.
His volunteer work is almost as involved as his political life and he received the Queen's Jubilee Medal for his public service. He helped to organize the 1984 Papal visit and he always stayed involved with hockey. He helped start the Saints hockey team and in 1984 helped to start a scholarship plan for all Alberta Junior Hockey League players, a program with which he still involves himself.
Russell admitted that being in the political spotlight was never easy, especially since for most of his career he has been a Liberal in a predominantly Conservative province.
"I could take it but it was tough on Joanne. Sometimes, when I knew it was going to be rough, I tried to get her to not come to forums," he said.
Joanne Russell said that her husband's determined set of mind still fascinates her after 58 years of marriage. She doubts whether a real retirement will ever happen in their lives.
"He's not retiring. No way. His work has to be meaningful for him to take it on. But if it's meaningful, it's not just for him but for others, he does it because he's happiest helping someone," she said.
As for his letters to the editor, Gazette readers can count on them continuing, Russell said.
"If I see an injustice in the community I won't let it go. There may be fallout, but in the end, it's worth doing if you bring it to the notice of the public," he said.
Bob Russell
What was your first job?
"Picking sugar beets near Lethbridge."
What was your first venture in politics?
"I started in politics in Comox, B.C. in the 1950s."
What is your favourite food?
"I love to cook. I make my own salsa and Joanne makes hers. Then we compare."
What is your favourite book?
"I read history. I just read the history of the Saudi Royal family in Saudia Arabia. Lately I've read a lot about the Middle East, and I read a translation of the Koran."
What is your favourite music?
"I love hymns. I sing in St. Matthew's Anglican Church choir and I sang in the Joan of Arc musical in Edmonton."
What is your favourite vacation spot?
"The Hawaiian Islands. Joanne and I went there on our honeymoon in 1954."
What are you most proud of?
"Being an advocate for people."
If you could go back and change one thing in your life, what would it be?
"The one thing I wish I'd done is that I'd taken law when we first got married. We discussed it, but I didn't do it."
If you had total power in St. Albert, what would you change?
"I'd look after the Sturgeon River. We're still not protecting it. I'd like to think we could have a beautiful lake again as there was 100 years ago before they started cutting down trees."
What is your hobby when you are not working?
"Gardening is my number one hobby. In summer I have two gardens and I have a greenhouse. I grow more than 14 types of tomatoes and I'm in my third test year for a new tomato hybrid I'm developing."
Tell us about your first kiss.
"It was an innocent thing on the front porch in high school."
