I remember meeting him and Marguerite for the first and only time back in 1996.  I was in Mesa on business and my mother suggested I look up her cousin Russ.  I called, they invited, and we met.  What fun I had.  Good food, good drink, such hospitality and I felt like I had known Russ forever by evening's end.  We talked mutual family and even made some phone calls to connect to other family.  Some of them we even woke up.  Such exuberance we had.

He was warm and affable then and he continued to be the same during our lasting email and Facebook connection.  He was a good man and I miss him.

Dear Marguerite and Family, 
We are sorry for your loss. Russ was more than a neighbor. He was a friend. He will be missed.

My deepest sympathy, Marguerite, to you and your family.

Here is what I will always remember about Russ:

I worked for him for over ten years, and we shared an office for a few of them. That is how I know he was a devoted husband, a loving and diligent father, and a caring brother. 

Russ made his living as a prodigiously gifted commercial banker. He was highly skilled at protecting the bank's interests while helping his business customers grow safely. There are many businesses that would not exist today, had it not been for Russ's advocacy. He was everything a Main Street banker should be.

His encouragement and empathetic questioning often assisted the sincere but inarticulate entrepreneur in forming and articulating a sound business plan. On the other hand, he could make a devious, evasive or deceptive borrower squirm in an interview.

Russ had great powers of concentration. He was incredible at a pool table - he learned his cue-craft as a toddler standing on an inverted bucket at a pool hall in Gloucester. He could have made a comfortable living as a hustler, but I do not think the prospect of travel and narrow escapes appealed to him.

It was never wise to get into a deep conversation with him when he was driving, because the driving would become secondary and the ride hair-raising.

Russ loved to fly on tiny planes. We once pursued a long-shot loan opportunity because it meant flying from Bedford to up-state New York to Philadelphia and back on a mosquito-sized  Beechcraft.

He was also my friend, a mentor, and later a trusted advisor. His judgment was never faulty and he inspired confidence and earned respect. Generous and kind, he was among the very best of men !

Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park & Funeral Care

Thomas "Russ" Webber

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Thomas "Russ" Russell Webber

September 27, 1929 – January 29, 2015

Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park & Funeral Care

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