Hello, Roger.  Could you include this notice in the Gambles Alumni News?  It is Dad's obituary notice, with additional information that may be of interest to former Gamble-Skogmo employees.

      Thanks.

          Bill Adams

 

 

      Russell W. "Russ" Adams, 96, of Grasston, Minnesota passed away on Friday, June 3,
2016 at the Minnesota Veteran’s Home in Minneapolis.

 

      Russell was born on May 27, 1920 in Rock County, Minnesota to Willard and Maude
(Dean) Adams.  Born the 6th of 7 children, he grew up in southwest Minnesota and
southern South Dakota.  In 1940, Russ graduated from Garretson High School in South
Dakota.  He worked in the Garretson area until February of 1942 when he enlisted in the
United States Army.  Before his deployment to the South Pacific in February of 1943, Russ was united in
marriage to Lillian “Beth” Waddle at Ft Lewis, Washington. Russ served overseas in the South Pacific under General MacArthur in an artillery battalion that helped to liberate the Philippines.  He was honorably discharged in November of 1945.  Soon after arriving back home in Garretson, Russ began working in sales at the Gamble Store in Pipestone, MN.  He also worked in company-owned stores in Marshall and Fairmont in Minnesota before becoming assistant manager to Ivan Warner in St. James, Minnesota.  In February of 1958 he was promoted to store manager in Madison, MN, and in 1960 transferred to Abilene, Kansas as field auditor for company-owned stores in Kansas and adjacent parts of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska.  In 1963 he was transferred to Brookings, South Dakota to continue as auditor for North and South Dakota, northern Nebraska, and western Minnesota.  This was followed by further assignments in the home office, Leavenworth, Kansas, Monmouth, Illinois, and Madrid, Iowa. Russ retired in 1983 after a second assignment to the home office in Dealer Accounting.

 

      After retirement, Russ and Beth moved to rural Mora, Minnesota. Beth passed away in September of
1999.  In May of 2008, Russ was married to Violet Anderson in Mantorville, Minnesota. The
couple made their home on the Anderson farm in rural Grasston. In April of 2015, Russ
moved to the MN Veteran’s Home in Minneapolis where he spent his final months.

 

      Russ was a lifelong Methodist and loved to sing in the choir and was active in the church
community.  Music was a vital part of Russ’ life and he was self-taught on several
instruments.  In his younger years, Russ was an athlete, playing numerous sports in high
school. He also followed many professional teams throughout his life. Russ was also a good do-it-yourself
mechanic, having learned many things from his uncles as a child.  Most of all, Russ was a family man, always placing his family first in his life.

 

      Russ was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Beth, his sisters Myrna, Erma, and
Etta, and his brothers Lyle, Ray, and Donald.

 

      He is survived by his second wife, Violet, sons William (Marla) of Dodge Center, MN, and Robert (Catherine) of Crystal, MN, grandsons David, Andrew, and Matthew, great granddaughters Amelia, Ava, Elise, and Rosalee, brother-in-law Edwin Swanson,  nieces, and nephews.

 

Visitation and a funeral service with military honor guard were held at the Mora United Methodist Church on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, and a memorial and committal service, also with honor guard, were held in Garretson on Friday, June 10, 2016.

Bill, we offer our condolences on your loss. All of us at Gambles thought the world of Russ. He was a special "buddy" to my dad. We will all miss him. Roger