Russell R. Shields

Russell Raymond Shields, affectionately known as Russ or Buster, was born in Wellington, Kansas in 1922. The eldest of 8 siblings, Russ passed his youth exploring the world in library books, milking and grazing the cow, and hopping freight trains to Oklahoma to see buffalo. He learned to play guitar and self-taught harmonica. He helped his dad and uncle work in the oil fields as they built derricks during the Great Depression, while jobs were scarce. He often stared at the sky wondering when he was going to see the world. In 1940, Russ and a few of his buddies went to Wichita and joined the Navy, spring boarding what he described as a good job and adventure.

During boot camp in Chicago the boys went to all night movies with 6 comics, 2 movies and free dishes for 34 cents. After boot camp, a fall from his hammock caused an injured kidney and rheumatic fever. His outfit and friends from home left for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while Russ wound up in Detroit at the Ford Plant Barracks. At Ford, he attended boiler school and spoke with Henry Ford one day, opining “he was a very nice guy.”

The first ship Russ boarded was the Ford Yacht, which was turned over to the Navy; he trained aboard the yacht on the Detroit River. After boiler school, he returned to Great Lakes Naval training in Chicago and a 9-man draft took him to San Francisco where he boarded the Lexington Aircraft Carrier, carrying his outfit to Pearl Harbor. Russ was aboard the USS Whitney when the attack occurred that launched the US into WWII – he wound up topside on the Whitney setting fuses on 3” anti-aircraft shells. The next day, he boarded the destroyer Selfridge 357, eventually completing missions by way of Bora Bora, New Zealand, Fiji and Guadalcanal where his ship was torpedoed. While Russ survived the battle, many of his friends did not, and the gravity of that occurrence never left his memory.

While on survivor’s leave from the battle, Russ came back to Detroit to marry his sweetheart Helen, with whom he was corresponding via letter. They previously met dancing at the Graystone Ballroom while the song “Some Enchanted Evening” played. Russ returned to the war; his missions included Saipan, Tinian, the Panama Canal, and Sydney, Australia, his favorite place, he often recalled with nostalgia.

After the war, Russ came home; he and Helen bought their first home in St. Clair Shores. They were married for over 76 years and had 7 children. The capstone of Russ’s varied civilian career was working for over 45 years as a union carpenter, proudly serving as a staff carpenter at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. At the age of 84, Russ received his high school diploma and became an honorary graduate of the class of 2007 from his hometown, Wellington, Kansas.

In his free time, he enjoyed fishing and hunting, or saying he was hunting, while out in the woods with a radio, jingling set of ever-present keys, and a cigar. He loved photography, capturing everything from the mundane through the monumental. He was a voracious reader of eclectic genres, continuing to devour books even when his memory did not allow their retention. He watched an equal number of films, but happily turned off the TV to welcome a visitor with a “hi, honey, you look good,” (or the alternative “can’t you afford a razor?”).

Always cracking jokes, even in his final days, Russ could only be described as ever hopeful and positive. This attitude manifested in some of his famous quotes (“I’ve lived a good life”), relentless pursuit of lottery winnings in the face of constant defeat, and his front pocket, full of “help wanted” ads to which he wished to respond, even though in his nineties. Russ stayed abreast of current events, habitually reading the newspaper every morning, including the “Ask Abby” advice column, to which he could have been consulted for his words of wisdom. His frequently espoused adages include “keep working” and “enjoy life, it goes fast.”

Russ joyfully reunites with his late wife, Helen, son, Michael, grandson, Patrick, his parents, brothers, Sid Jr. and Robert, and sister, Georgia. He leaves behind 4 siblings, Rosemarie, Dorothy, Max, and Kenneth; 6 children Patrick (Joyce), Mary Ann (Paul), Linda (Jerry), Dale (Lois), Judy (Biff), and Joellen; 18 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren to honor his legacy as a quintessential member of the greatest generation.

In lieu of flowers a donation can be made in Russ' memory to a charity of your choice.