The nickname was bestowed upon him when he was a little red-headed, freckle-faced kid growing up during the 50’s in Pleasanton, a small town on San Francisco’s East Bay. During Rusty’s boyhood, he was a model train hobbyist and a “rail fan”. He dreamed of growing up to become a Pullman porter on a sleeping car train.
But a boy’s dreams can change. A summer job working in a neighborhood pharmacy set him on a different career course. After graduating from Amador Valley High School followed by receiving his pharmacy degree at the University of the Pacific (UOP), Russ headed straight to Officers’ Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and then served on active duty for 3 years as a lieutenant on a vessel patrolling the Mediterranean. Several additional years in the Reserves followed his honorable discharge.
Back home in the SF Bay Area, he first worked at and then purchased a community pharmacy in his beloved hometown. (He would acquire three more professional pharmacies with Mike Clauser as his principal business partner before he sold the business and retired in 2010.)
He had married Paula in 1976 and they raised three children- a son, Louis, and twin daughters, Megan and Katy.
In retirement, Rusty and Paula lived in downtown San Francisco for seven years before moving to San Diego. Russ loved the easy resort living at their waterfront condo tower in San Diego. You’d often find him relaxing at the pool there or tending his small urban garden on their private terrace.
Russ continued to love trains. He no longer collected model trains but he became a collector of train rides. He and Paula enjoyed traveling on some of the great passenger railways of the world including the Trans- Siberia Railway, The Orient Express, The Blue Train of South Africa, The Indian Pacific Railway of Australia, the Canadian Pacific from coast to coast, and the bullet trains of Japan.
In addition to his three children, Rusty also leaves his adored twin granddaughters Ava and Frances who reside with their parents Katy and Jim Romdall in Seattle. Additionally, he leaves his wonderful fraternity brothers of the Alpha Psi chapter of Phi Delta Chi. (UOP). That enduring fraternal bond profoundly shaped his life.
Services for Rusty will be held Privately. Please contact Paula and family directly for more information.
In lieu of flowers or any other Memorial gifts, Rusty's family would be honored if you would make a donation in his name to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), https://www.pancan.org. Founded in 1999, PanCAN is dedicated to fighting the world’s toughest cancer. In their urgent mission to save lives, they attack pancreatic cancer on all fronts: research, clinical initiatives, patient services and advocacy.
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