William Hart Russell, cave scientist and caver extraordinaire, passed away on 21 March 2019 after a brief illness. Born in 1937 in Houston, Texas, to a professional librarian, Leonore Schuppert Russell, and a geologist, William Low Russell, he grew up in Bryan, Texas, with his brother, Philip, where his father taught at Texas A&M University for several decades.
Their father took them on fieldwork trips which inspired William's very early engagement with caves and cave science. After serving in the army in Germany, returning to the University of Texas at Austin to complete his degree in Geography, and then working for the IRS, he became a central force in caving, cave exploration, and cave science, particularly in Texas and Mexico -- a role he played for over 60 years, inspiring generations of cavers and helping preserve cave data, natural resources, and water quality in Austin, Texas.
He is survived by his brother Philip and his life partner Katie Arens. A memorial is planned for a later date.
Donations in his name may be made to one of the cave archive and conservation groups that he co-founded: Texas Speleological Survey (https://texasspeleologicalsurvey.org/), the Texas Cave Management Association (https://www.tcmacaves.org/), and the Association for Mexican Cave Studies (http://www.mexicancaves.org/) .
