HERE IS THE STORY ABOUT LEON RUSSELL!!!
My Website: leoncrussell.com
My father was born in Oohlagah , Oklahoma! (1901) (See my website for background of Leo C Russell)
My Mother was born in Sanford, Florida! (1903) (See my website for background of Dorothy M. ‘Boyd’ Russell)
You will find other people in this family there also!
I was born at Sanford City Hospital, Mon 7:00 April 15, 1940 (04/15/1940) I’m in the website too!
My adventures:
I didn’t have a choice when Mom and Dad moved to Toledo, Ohio in May of 1942! Dad needed work and the War Plants were hiring! He found Spicer Corporation building half tracks! New ones were fun to ride! Sometimes, not so much, the huge tow truck was necessary!!!
Dad also worked for Steve Bond who owned 20th Century Oil Company, 3 gasoline stations in Toledo! Each Station had a railroad siding to accept rail tankers of gasoline! Delivery trucks were not so much then! Each tanker would hold 10,000 gallons of fuel! Gasolines were much cheaper at the refineries! They brought in 89 and 94 Octane! 94 had to red when sold in the Station! When it was pumped from the railcar to the station holding tank the color was added! OOOOOH! It was so much fun jumping off the railcar and Dad would catch me!!!!!!
Yeah I went to Toledo Public Schools! Newbury Elementary School, Jones Junior High School!
Then we moved and I changed to Harvard Junior High School!! I AM A GRADUATE OF HARVARD!
THEN to Libbey High School 4 years, graduate June 1958!!!!
Since Dad purchased one of the gas stations, I kinda volunteered to work at the station! until i was 16! Needed to support my car! 1956!
Late in 1959 I went to work for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, Clerk! Still worked for Dad on weekends! or whenever!
Well I didn’t take long to do life! I married June Drudzinski (whom I met at Jones Junior high School 1952), May 23, 1959! 3 Kids, 1 boy 2 girls, and 13 years! More Life!! Divorce Final December 13, 1972!
I had attended the University of Toledo starting in 1958 for Business Management and Engineering! More Life took control! My working load and Family became a hindrance So I halted the Education plan after 2 years!! Well 4 years of working and planning worked out! 3 kids were in the family, still working on the Railroad! Then the C&O started an Employee Education Plan! I pay and earn at least a C grade, they reimbursed the cost! Yep, that was for me!
The UofT now offered a Computer Science Degree! THAT WAS FOR ME TOO! My previous points counted, But The computer courses were different, so back full time and working on the railroad! Graduated 1968 4.9/5.0 GPA! I got dinged for not being good at Physical Education, particularly the pull-ups!! The Railroad offered me a position, but I wanted a business career! I had taken an internship at Inmont Corporation Coated Fabrics Division, Computer Systems Engineer! They left me! Moved the Toledo system to Detroit! and the New York System to New Jersey! I helped build a Computerized Color Matching System, and a Bill of Material System, for inventory management and to schedule operations!
Next up: Questor Corporation, Multi Division Company! AP Auto Parts!, Spaulding Sporting Goods, Even Flo Baby Products, Dyersburg Shock Absorbers, Grand Haven Mufflers! To install in every plant a Bill of Material System for inventory management and to schedule operations! In December of 1973 I taught my juniors so well that I wasn’t needed so I was included in the blood bath! Caused by the Governments 55 mile an hour speed limit everyware! Nice hit to the Auto Industry!! ON 01/03/1974 I went to the Job Hunter!
In 2 weeks GTE Information Systems needed a Sales Systems Engineer to help with their Key To Disk System!! That was Me! Again a multi division company! KtoD, IBM Me to Terminals and Service, GTE Stock Market Instant Prices System, Restaurant OTC Sales System For McDonalds, Burger King, and others! In some way GTE had all the Fortunes, and many of the large locals as a customer!
I spent 2 months in California in school for the Key To Disk. I and 3 others were the SETeam! We were always programming in Cobol language for the clients! And always present when any of the products and the systems were down and the hardware maintenance and repair technicians were on site!!! The SETeam were there to test the system to validate the repair! I eventually built a WAR room to make sure our repair technicians had the repair parts in hand the next morning “NO EXCEPTIONS”!!! I CALLED OUT THE GTE COMPANY JET to deliver parts cross the USA!
My Salesman team (April/May 1974) partner had a girl friend in Ashtabula, Ohio! She wanted to make a blind date for me to meet her friend! My team partner didn’t want to do that! So Theresa Mauri called me to find out who this Leon Russell was???? We talked for a while and I asked what she was doing that night, that was it! We met in Ashtabula! Theresa was Divorced and so was I! We dated every night since our meeting on around April 30th! By May 20th we ran away to just have fun and came back married! May 21, 1974!! This Great GTE Job lasted until Jan 1982 When GTE closed most divisions and morphed into Verizon Wireless! I have lots of Verizon stock! I called the Head Hunter!
He convinced me to be a sales man for Cincinnati based Data Processing Sciences: Working Western Pennsylvania, and North Eastern Ohio!
I already knew the people in Firestone, Goodyear, and Ohio Edison I sold many Data Communication Testing Machines to the and Major coal, Aluminum, and Banking Companies every where in my territory! OH! My I really done good! I designed, engineered then sold and $800,000 75 audio and 75 digital channel network restoral system for Ohio Edison. This had a really special Switch! In a local computer failure throw the switch and all channels switched to different audio and digital multiplexers connected to a hot computer stand by computer in a bunkered structure in Chicago area! OH! They built a new computer center miles away from their downtown center! Yep they needed a second one! Did i tell ya? Since I engineered these extremley capable systems, I was also the one who had to install them! Coveralls and all!
Each system had Audio signal testing and Digital Data Communication Testing Machines!
Then the tragedy struck!
June 16,1984, i was leaving Ashtabula going to a customer’s site! Route 20 had a 45 MPH speed limit. I was about 40 when I rounded the curve on slightly wet pavement from a shower that stopped! AND, there she was turning left in front of me! I smacked her at my 40 to her right rear quarter panel center dead on!! She spun around hitting the Utility pole with a square hit in the left quarter panel! My car crunched as an accordion! My left knee hit the bottom edge of the dash! Nice cut there! Band aid style! I hit the Seat Belt at 40MPH! I though I had the miracle accident! The next day i had a 4″ black and blue mark from my Left shoulder across my chest to my Right hip!!! Still didn’t hurt much, just cranky muscles because they were jerked the wrong way!!! At this point i did some research on smacking your seat belt at 40MPh and the damage it can cause! Canadian Research has determined that crashing as I did and at 45MPH will rip your heart from your aorta!
WEE OOOH! I MISSED THE big one!!!! BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU BRUISE EVERY ORGAN IN YOU CHEST! WHAT IF YOUR AORTA IS ENLARGED FROM THE STRETCHING, WHAT IF YOUR LUNGS SWELL UP BECAUSE THEY DON’T LIKE SWINGING LIKE A PENDULIM CRASHING INTO BOTH SIDES OF YOUR CHEST! WHAT IF YOUR STOMACH, JUST AFTER LUNCH, HITS THE WALL ON THE RIGHT AND SLIDES DOWN ENOUGH TO YANK ON YOUR ESOPHAGUS AND WIND PIPE TO STRECTH TO TOP OF THEM BOTH! I DO!!
YEP THERE IS MORE, MUCH MORE
I’M TIRED. I’LL TRY TO DO THIS EARLIER TOMMOROW! I NEED TO FINISH!
I HAVE MORE CANS OF WORMS TO OPEN!!!!