JOHN RUSSELL
Daily life at the Delta Chi fraternity house was about to change. Jerry Newport, ’70, president of the fraternity was an officer in the interfraternity council. John Russell had written a letter to the council saying that he was looking for a job as a fraternity cook. He, aside from being a cook in the Army during WW II, had many years experience working as a cook at a Michigan State University fraternity house in East Lansing. He wanted to live inside the fraternity house and would provide the members with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jerry brought the letter to Douglas Shelton who was steward at the time and JR was hired January 12, 1969.
Before this time, the brothers of Delta Chi had several part-time cooks who were often unreliable and created less than desirable meals. JR was hired by the fraternity and moved into the small bedroom downstairs, just off the dining room. The Delta Chi brothers started to eat like kings and they began to describe JR as a “wizard in the kitchen” ( Alex Kalymon ’70, Doug Shelton ’70)
Many brothers remembered in detail the incredible taste of JR’s daily sticky buns, which were sweet rolls made from scratch with brown sugar. Brothers from various years described these buns in the same exact way – “to die for”. Tom Haid ’78 says, “To this day I can’t buy a Cinnabon at the airport, John spoiled me.” Others remember the dishes he would concoct such as groundhog, rabbit and birds from his trips home to Virginia with the occasional buckshot found in the meat. John Russell was indeed a wizard in the kitchen. John could prepare pretty much any dish that we wanted. And John never wasted any food. Leftovers were always transformed into another dish for lunch the next day. And every lunch was now transformed into a buffet style meal with a number of different food choices available every day. It was normal for us to get at least half a dozen different food choices for lunch every day. (Alex Kalymon).
JR’s influence did not stop in the kitchen. He always provided lessons and lectures about cleanliness and maturity as Jim Fuger ’82 recounts. Scott Kellman ’78 reminisces that he and Norm Anschuetz ’78 spent hours talking politics with JR. John was a tremendous student of history and had deep insights into the evolution of race relations and social change. As Scott recalled, “One of us once asked him his opinion of the eight or nine presidents he had watched over his life and he responded by asking whether we wanted to know if they were good leaders or good people and made sure we did not confuse the two issues. “ My junior year, JR noticed I was missing dinner three or four nights a week. The next time I got back to the house late he was waiting for me. He took me back to the kitchen, showed me where he had put a plate of food aside for me and told me it would be there whenever I missed dinner in the future.
JR went above and beyond the duties of a cook and served as more of a “house mother” cleaning up around the house and making sure the boys did not cause too much of a disturbance. (Editor’s note: several article reviewers indicated that he hated with a passion the words “house mother” and preferred “house father” or “sage old advisor”). He did like to get dressed up on Saturday nights to go out for a beer at his favorite bar, Del Rio, in downtown Ann Arbor. When he did stay in the house on Saturday nights, it meant having to put up with the fraternity parties and disco music right next to his bedroom. Subsequently, this meant that he would come up the stairs at 5:30 AM the following morning banging pots and pans saying “it’s time to get up.” Some brothers additionally recounted a major food fight in 1971; JR came out and laid into the brothers about abusing the food he made, and needless to say there was never another food fight during those years. He didn’t yell often, but when he did the boys would always shape up and listen. His signature phrase was “This ain’t no hotel Delta Chi” and his house rule was “No shoes, no shirts, no service, no exceptions”.
Despite the strict rules, there was no doubt that John Russell left a profound impact on the brothers that came in contact with him over those fifteen years. John Mardinly ’72 expressed that “John Russell was one of the most outstanding highlights of [his] life at Delta Chi” and many brothers considered him to be the most important asset to the fraternity throughout the years. Mardinly adds that JR’s meals were always right on time and everyone came and ate together, which always contributed to a sense of community within the house. Brothers retell countless stories of JR’s ability to ensure that everyone had a meal, even if they were late to dinner. John Levinson ’73 recounts that he moved into the fraternity house to eat John’s food and despite the fact that lacrosse practice ended after dinner was over, JR would always save a plate for him and sit at the table with him while he ate dinner after practice. John Mardinly recalls the late night study sessions that were fueled by endless supplies of chocolate chip cookies and/or sticky buns.
JR would consistently soothe the stress of college; he was always a joy to be around. His cheerful disposition was another trait people remembered most. He would always greet the brothers “Good Morning, Mr. _______” with a certain polite nature and positive attitude. Lane Bertand ’78 said he would always want to return the respect by referring to John as “Mr. Russell” and JR would have none of that, emphasizing that his name was either “John” or “JR”.
JR’s family home was in Rural Retreat, Virginia and the brothers would pay for his travel expenses as he refused to fly; he was convinced that airplanes simply fell out of the sky. Joe Gradisher ’79 recounts the most riveting story of renting a 24 foot champion motorhome and with Brian Barrie ‘83, John Borshch ‘78, Scott Leak ‘77, Ernie Lueder ‘78, and Mike Sieracki ’77 driving it to Rural Retreat, VA over Christmas break to pick up JR and some meat that he wanted to take back to the fraternity house. They made a stop in DC to pick up Kendall Russell ’78, loaded up the beef in Virginia, broke down in Ohio, and finally made it back to Michigan.
An additional memorable night came in the fall of 1978 when the brothers of Delta Chi had an exchange dinner with the sisters of Alpha Xi Delta. The brothers dressed up in suits and ties and JR dressed the tables with linen and candles. The men who went to the sorority house had fish soup, however JR prepared a roasted duck meal which made quite the impression on the sorority. JR beamed with pride after all of the compliments he received from the women.
Michael Sieracki additionally remembers the brothers learning four part harmonies to fraternity and Michigan songs and dressing up to sing for the sororities. JR was so touched by their singing that he was moved to tears on more than one occasion.
John Henry Russell was an army veteran of World War II and a cook at the University of Michigan Delta Chi fraternity house with fifteen years of dedicated service to the fraternity men. “He was a man of deep convictions and a deep and storied history.” (Lane Bertrand ’78). Many brothers regret that they did not spend more time with JR and did not get to know him more deeply on a personal level. John who was born November 9, 1904 in Rural Retreat, VA, retired in 1983. The fraternity held an honorary dinner for him on April 20, 1983 at the Old German Restaurant. JR died at his home in Virginia in 1995 when his apron caught on fire and he was unable to escape it. He had a graveside service in Quantico National Cemetery with military honors by an Army Honor Guard. The dining room and kitchen at the new Delta Chi house at the University of Michigan were named in his honor. The brothers remember JR fondly with his white chef’s hat and apron, his Homecoming game day meals, and the life lessons and advice they took from him along the way.
The Editors want to thank the following for their contribution to this article which was created by Anna Brinkley Sheehan, granddaughter of Keith Hellems: After collating all the comments and then writing the article her final comment was, “I was so touched by what all the brothers said about him, I wish I had known him.“
Lane Bertrand ’78, Walter Cornwall ’79, Mark Dunning ’84, Steve Fisher ’73, Jim Fuger 82, Joe Gradisher ’79, Tom Haid ’78, Jeff Holbrook ’78, Alex Kalymon ’70, Scott Kellman ’78, Scott Leak ’77, John Levinson ’73, Dan Maher ’76, John Mardinly ’72, Gary Mervak ’74, Dan Moran ’75, Doug Shelton ’70, Michael Sieracki ’77, George Stalk ’73, John Stinson ‘75
After the above article was written, comments continued to flow in. These are included for your perusal:
Dan Springer ’81 remembers the trip to VA to pick JR up that year: “I can’t recall why he wasn’t taking the bus as usual, but word was he’d be very late. We couldn’t start the year without JR! Scott Walls ’83 and I happened to be at the house well before school started that semester, so we jumped in my car and drove down to get him. Scott Walls was a great road trip companion! We stopped at a rest stop on the way back for a meal that JR produced from one of the packages/bags he was bringing. Amazing! One of my favorite college memories… “
Scott Walls’ comments were: “I first moved into the chapter house in the final days of August 1980 to work with my pledge class in repair projects around the house. I also signed up to drive with Dan Springer to Rural Retreat, VA to pick up John Russell, who was to return as our live-in cook. JR, who was 88 years old at the time, had been absent for a time due to illness and was something of an unknown mythical quantity to our transient household, was ready to go when Dan and I arrived at his house. It was good that we rented a huge Pontiac because JR had so much canned and fresh produce from his garden that it completely filled the car. He’d prepared fried chicken and coconut cake to serve as road food for our six hour return to Ann Arbor.”
Scott Walls also noted: “ JR’s presence in the house had a calming and steadying influence, and his down-home wisdom was so appreciated by those of us who would slow down long enough to spend some time with him. He read the paper every morning and would oftentimes have a pre-dinner announcement, usually about orderliness around the house. JR wore a paper hat and always kept us on good terms with the city health inspector. After a few months it became apparent that we had to find a housing arrangement nearby. Fortunately a lovely couple named Borschert lived in a beautiful Albert Kahn designed house at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw agreed to rent a room to JR, which made everyone much happier.
After a couple of years JR retired and we moved on to poorer eating, but he had an out-sized influence on our lives due to his dignity, steady competence, and good humor.”
Jim Fuger ’82 wrote: “Greg Roda (Pode) ’83 and I picked him up fall of 1981 in my 1972 Green Oldsmobile Cutlass (a death mobile if there ever was one). Round tripped it, shared driving / sleeping. He usually took the Greyhound bus back to Rural Retreat in the spring. A neighbor would pick him up at the bus station and take him home.”
David Nehmer ’79 wrote: “I love all of the JR stories. During my junior year, I worked with JR to purchase all the food for the house and set planned meals. You guys all know them: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, meat loaf, bacon & eggs and “sticky buns!” Between Farmer Jack’s & Meijers, I stuffed my red Pinto to the gills—always careful not to get “rear-ended” at the stoplights. JR was a great planner and extremely well organized. And man, could he cook. Sometimes Brother Rick Mousseau ‘79, Danny Springer’81, Joe Gradisher ‘79, or my “actual brother” Mark Nehmer ’80 would tag along to pitch in.
JR lived right next to the dining area so he always had to put up with the noise from our parties. But if they went on too long, he’d come out of his room in his thin cotton pajamas and brown leather slippers and utter his most infamous phrase, “ Go to beeed!””
Questions or comments can be directed to either:
Frank Morrey at [email protected] or Keith Hellems at [email protected]
