I just found out of Bobs passing today 5/10/2022.  Bob worked at Northeast Utilities as a contractor in the computer area and I became friends with him when i was in the Select Energy part of the company.  I have even been to his home stopping in the B.S.  at times.  We called him Computer Bob.  He was so smart with computers. He had once owned his own store.  The stories!  One time he and I think his brother once  purchased surplus military jeeps for plowing driveways or something.  I remember the catering van he had purchased and was going to make it into a camper.  The silver bullet.  I think he ran it off off French fry oil he strained in the basement.  He once showed me how he did it.  Oh he was a jack of all trades and a wonderful person. He is missed.  Stephen LaRoche

My Dad was a person with so much to offer and he did just that.  Dad took part in the typical dad things like teaching his kids how to swim, ride a bike, properly toss a snowball and ski.  Even more fun was had learning to back dive and cannonball, going on group bike rides, camping and canoeing, to name a few.   Then the adventure really began when Dad helped to teach me how to drive a standard.  (His claim of neck pain was just teasing humor, right?)  Well, he didn’t stop there.  At the first opportunity, he took me to a large parking lot early in the morning, and he taught me how to drive in snowy conditions, with Mom’s blessing.  (It was Mom’s car!).   The tracks we left in the snow, did not resemble snow angels and that’s all I will say.  I made a promise.   
Dad was a very skilled DIY handyman and mechanic.  The things I’ve learned from Dad grew more practical over the years, like changing out a car battery or tire and many various DIY home projects.  Through it all,  he always injected humor.   Easy to overlook in the moment, but the most endearing lesson of all was keeping a sense of humor, even when things got, "mean, bad, no good and rotten".  Life is too short to sweat the little things.  Love you Dad.

Hi Jackie and Family,

Ray and I are very sorry for your loss.

I have very fond memories of Bob.   

I remember the bike he let us use when he lived in Maine.   I learned a little about fixing a bike through him.

Joan



I don’t think there are enough words to describe how incredible my grandfather was; but I’ll give it my best shot. 

My grandfather was the most badass man I knew, he was a survivalist, an entrepreneur, a computer geek, an at home comedian, the smartest man I knew, and most of all the best grandfather anyone could ever ask for. 

He had endless stories to tell, each one as interesting as the last. He really did live a full and long life. I’m so grateful in knowing that even though he’s not here physically, he’s still with us, and always will be. 

My favorite memory was when I drove back from New York to Connecticut, at 14, with my brother to visit, and I showed him how to find and download music, particularly music that he thought would’ve been too old to even make it to the internet. He spent least 12 hours, and almost the whole night, listening to oldies on what seemed like the loudest volume his speakers could handle, downloading them, and burning them to CDs, which we then listened to the whole time when he drove me back to New York a week later, when I had initially planned on taking the train. At 14 years old, I was surprised how good the music was, it was beautiful even. It was a world in my grandfathers head that I knew nothing about. We drove in his big blue van, the same one that I would help him wash by hand every other weekend as a little girl, and I was always thrilled to do it. 

Grandpa, I love you so much, and I miss you with every fiber of my being. You always put a smile on my face, and for that, thank you. 

My grandfather was the closest thing I ever had to a positive male role model and father I have ever had and of all the things he taught me the one that has always helped me through tough times is his favorite saying "to hell with them if they can't take a joke". Looking back now I see that he always seemed to love working the jobs he had because his passion was people, he made friends everywhere he went and always had a captivating story to tell. Grandpa was always funny, accepting and understanding. He was the best and brightest person I've ever and possibly will ever know and I'll miss him greatly.

My Dad, Mr fix it. Could fix anything to my 5 yr old Tom boy eyes. I always loved to hand him tools while working on the truck or bikes and see how proud he was that he taught me well enough to know the difference between a crescent wrench from a monkey lol. What a great sense of humor and lots of great stories to tell. As we got older he exceeded in computer repair and programming, again I believe there was nothing he couldn't fix. He was my hero and always will be. My Dad is terribly missed he made the world a brighter and less broken place.

I Love you Dad!

OBITUARY

Robert A Russell

July 1, 1947 – September 20, 2021

Newkirk & Whitney Funeral Home

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