Remembering Former Senior Master William Russ Elgin

Born on November 8, 1948, in Kansas City, Missouri, Russ earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Westminster College in Missouri and a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont. During the Cold War era, he was drafted into the U. S. Army and was enrolled in its Defense Language Institute in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Certificate of Outstanding Scholastic Achievement in Chinese. Posted to Okinawa for nearly three years, he used his linguistic skills in service to the Army, his obituary said.

In 1975, Russ was hired by then-Headmaster Burgess Ayres to teach Spanish and coach cross-country. His tenure spanned the leadership of five Heads of School: Burgess Ayres, David Kern, Michael Eanes H’90 P’90 GP’20 ’23 ’25, Susie Graham H’12, and Peter Becker. In 1985, despite his relative youth, Russ was appointed Senior Master, a position he held until his retirement in 2014. For nearly 30 years, he planned and served as Master of Ceremonies for major school functions from Convocation to Baccalaureate and Commencement each year, and he took on additional responsibilities as a house parent and coach for baseball, hockey, golf, and soccer. Russ was named the holder of both The Tisch Family Chair for Excellence in Teaching (1993-1996) and The Noto Family Chair for Dedicated Service (2008-2011). Each year at Prize Night, he is remembered as the school presents an award in his name, the W. Russ Elgin Award for Excellence in Spanish.

“He was the consummate professional who executed his roles at the school with a deep sense of purpose,” said Associate Head of School Seth Low P’26 ’28, who is grateful to have called Russ a colleague for 10 years.

“Even more impressive than his long run as Senior Master is his steadfast dedication to life as a triple-threat faculty member. For 39 years, he taught, and coached, and did dorm duty, and ran graduation ceremonies, etc. He was a model of consistency and a consummate educator of whom Frederick Gunn would have been proud. We were lucky to have him here for four decades, and I feel fortunate to have overlapped with him,” Low said, speaking at a dinner in August, during which faculty and staff observed a moment of silence in honor of Russ.

“I will remember him in the moments when I saw him at his happiest — at the chalkboard in the Schoolhouse (long after all other classrooms switched to whiteboards) and driving the Zamboni at Linen Rink," Low said, adding, "I don’t remember how or why Russ started driving the Zamboni, but once he started, he did it faithfully for the remainder of his career, because that is the type of person Russ was — a faithful, dedicated teacher and mentor.”

Following his retirement, Russ moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and kept in contact with many of his friends and former Gunn colleagues, including Ed Small, who succeeded him as Senior Master. Over the past decade, the two caught up via phone calls that Ed said typically coincided with the school’s calendar of special events. “Russ would get me up to speed on the happenings of the school that were going on right under my nose,” Ed said, noting that Russ followed the school’s social media and website postings closely. “Former colleagues and former students were excellent resources.”

“When I met with former colleagues and students, they would frequently ask, ‘How’s Russ?’ Fittingly, their interest was always sincere. Russ epitomized the quintessential boarding school master. His measured responses to difficult tasks at hand always reflected common sense solutions. He was rational and creative in this endeavor, and this skill earned him the respect from the faculty and student body that he so deserved. Russ was a teacher, coach, advisor, dorm parent, and much more. He was an athlete, musician, and lover of nearly all things Spanish,” Ed said, recalling in particular Russ’ passion for La Vuelta a España, which was inspired by the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

“This is when Russ’s true colors (orange and yellow) were quite evident. In discussing each stage result, he would embellish the host cities’ attractions from his personal experiences in those same cities. His commentary during the grand tour made La Vueltra a España more meaningful to me. His semi-annual visits to Spain provided him with a wealth of knowledge that he willingly shared with others, including me,” Ed said. “However, what endeared him to me was that he would send my young sons birthday cards and presents. He would always give my sons his leftover Halloween candy. We had dogs and cats during our common tenure at the school, and Russ liked neither. He visited frequently anyway. He would give my sons a dime for each foul baseball that they could retrieve from the banking leading down to the Mayflower Inn’s pond from Underhill Field. Russ paid in cash after each game.”

“I will miss my conversations with Russ,” Ed said. “He was a good friend and a good man who lived a good life.”

On Sunday, September 15, 2024, following the 8:30 a.m. services, a funeral ceremony of remembrance for Russ will be held at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the Kendrick Chapel, located at 518 N. Alameda Boulevard in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Family and friends are invited to attend. Those who are unable to attend in person are invited to view the service via live stream at 9:40 a.m. (MT).

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