Everett Carleton Russell (1889-1958)

Everett Carleton Russell was born on August 7, 1889 in Kewanee, Henry County, Illinois. He was the son of John Benjamin Russell and Elsie Isabel Gunn. He graduated from Kewanee High School in 1907. He then attended Western State Teachers College, Northwestern University and Wheaton College where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1913. Mr. Russell taught in Bensonville, Illinois for 1 year (1913-1914) and drafting at Dubuque, Iowa for 8 + years (1914-1922). He enlisted and served for a time in the "Great Lakes Navy" during World War I. In February of 1922 he came to Pontiac, Michigan as a drafting teacher. While he was teaching he also did graduate work at the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit where he was a member of Iota Lamba Sigma (about 1922-1924). He met and married Gladys H. Purser at the Grand River Avenue Methodist Church in Detroit on April 3, 1924. He was the father of 2 children including Robert C. and Barbara H. In 1930 he became Supervisor of Trades and Industrial Arts (Pontiac) and in 1939 he became Director of Vocational Education (Pontiac High School) for the Pontiac School District from which he retired in June of 1955. While working in the Pontiac Schools he founded the Adult Night School Program and the Co-Op Extension program. Upon retirement he helped supervise the building of Royal Oak Kimball High School and the vocational department of Pontiac Northern High School. He was the President of the Pontiac Y.M.C.A. in 1950. He was a member of the Congregational Church of Pontiac, The National Council of City Directors, Pontiac Rotary, Pontiac Chamber of Commerce, and the Schoolmasters Club. He passed away on December 19, 1958 in Pontiac and was laid to rest at Perry Mount Park Cemetary in Pontiac, Michigan