Bobby Russell

Bobby P. Russell

1920-2016 Bobby Price Russell, an extraordinarily warm and friendly man, and a native Texan who was a philanthropist, an executive in the insurance business, and a leader in amateur golf died on September 23rd at his home in Manchester, Vermont. He was 96. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Martha Francis Dowd of Amarillo, Texas in 1995 and by his sister, Maxine Thomas of Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is survived by his wife, Mary Long Russell of Manchester, Vermont, his son, Steven (Patty) Russell, his daughter, Rochelle (Max) Walker, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, all of whom reside in the Dallas area, his sister, Patty Mark of Houston, and nieces and nephews. Mary's children also survive him: Katharine (Robert) Horgan of Maine, Timothy (Deborah) Long of New York, Ryan (Michaeline) Long of Florida, Susan Long (Virgil) de Vold?re of New York City, and seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. Bobby, the son of Robert Russell and Francis Varble Russell was born in Fort Worth, Texas on February 12, 1920. He graduated from Pascal High School in Fort Worth in 1937. He was the valedictorian and president of the senior class. He was admitted to Texas Christian University, but decided that the reality of his family's financial situation required him to work. Because of the very limited opportunities in Fort Worth, he moved to New York City where he found sales work. He later told friends that he learned in New York how to sell and how to persevere, skills that served him well throughout his career. When his father told him an insurance agency in Amarillo might have an opening, Bobby applied, got the job and moved back to Texas. He quickly became a top producer. He saw and seized his first major opportunity when he read in a newspaper that the U. S. Government had decided to require that temporary guest farm workers from Mexico be required to carry health and burial insurance. He contacted the proper official in the Mexican Government and arranged an exclusive agency right agreement to sell the insurance. After he secured that agreement, he traveled to London and persuaded Lloyd's of London to provide the insurance. He built a network of assistants along the entire southwest border to sell the policies and collect the premiums and sold over 5,000,000 policies. Later, he sold his Mexican business to Floyd West & Company, a leading Dallas insurance firm, in return for a limited partnership in that firm. Bobby volunteered for the Air Force immediately after World War II was declared in December 1941, but was turned down because he was by then newly married and the sole breadwinner for his mother and sisters. However, when he tried again early in 1943 he was accepted into the United States Army Air Force. He applied for and won a place in a pilot training school. This was not easy -- pilot training was usually granted only to college graduates. The war ended before he got his wings and he returned to the Amarillo office of the Floyd West & Company agency where he soon became the leading producer of new business. He received a number of promotions that took him first to Fort Worth and then, in 1951, (when he was 31 years old) to the Dallas headquarters and a full partnership. During the following years, Bobby and his partners grew the Floyd West & Company to a size so large that a fundamental clause in the partnership agreement could not be met --no partner could afford to buy out the share of the firm owned by a retiring or deceased partner and it was decided to sell the firm. Bobby was tasked to do so, and he arranged the sale of the Floyd West & Company to Crum & Forster, an important New York City based insurance holding company. Bobby had, at that point in time, no intention or desire to leave Texas, and saw his new role as developing and improving Crum & Forster business in the Southwest. However, when Crum & Forster offered him the presidency of the firm in 1964, Bobby moved to New York. He was appointed president in March 1966, and chief executive officer and chairman in 1970. In September 1982, Bobby supervised the sale of Crum & Forster to the Xerox Corporation for $1.6 billion. After the sale, he continued to manage the firm's activities for Xerox and sat on the Xerox Board until he retired in July 1985. He essentially doubled the value of Crum & Forster during his tenure, which had become, at the time of his retirement, the sixteenth largest property and casualty carrier in the United States. Subsequent to his election to the Crum and Forster Board, Bobby was also named to the boards of a number of insurance business trade associations including the American Foreign Insurance Association, the College of Insurance, the Insurance Company Organization, the Insurance Institute of America, the American Insurance Association, and the New York Insurance Exchange. As the Chairman of the American Insurance Association, which is the principal trade organization of the casualty and property insurance companies in the United States, he testified often to various committees of the Congress, and twice conferred with President Carter, once in relation to the intent of the Government to promote use of a vaccine for the swine flu. The second matter related to the President's interest in nationalizing the disability insurance business, which traditionally was handled by the states. Bobby's love and passion for the game of golf began at the Meadow Brook Country Club in Fort Worth where he began to caddy at nine years of age. He once remarked that the bags he carried were bigger than he was. The pro at Meadow Brook often helped the caddies with their games, and Bobby was able to play on Mondays with clubs borrowed from his uncle. Over time, he became a very good golfer. He never had time to give to the organizational side of the game when he was in Texas. He did play. He joined a club in Dallas and after he moved to New York, he became a member of Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey. Subsequently, he joined Baltusrol's board and in 1976 was elected president of that club. Bobby belonged to Baltusrol Golf Club, Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Gulf Stream Golf Club, and the Dorset Field Club. Bobby's interest in the United States Golf Association, or the USGA, and its programs began when he came across a report on the USGA turf grass improvement research program. His thought was that nothing is as fundamental to golf as the grass the game is played on. Later, he visited the USGA's turf grass projects. He saw that good work was being done, but that the program was under funded. He set out to raise the money the program required and did so. Bobby had a good record as a fundraiser in the New York area. He had been chair of the fund-raising campaign for the Police Athletic League of New York in 1982, honorary chair of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America in 1976, and a trustee of the Independent College Fund of New Jersey. The USGA, based on that record and Bobby's success with the turf grass funding, asked him to chair its major fund raising project, and he agreed to do so. The Executive Committee of the USGA calculated that $10 million were required to fund its various programs. The results of the campaign showed that the USGA had picked the right man. Bobby raised a total of $12 million. A number of people who worked on that campaign were, in those days, young staffers at the USGA who have to this day appreciated the friendliness, care, and interest Bobby showed in them and in what they were doing. Bobby raised a lot of money for the USGA and in the process made many friends for himself both in at the USGA and in the golf clubs around the country. Bobby joined the USGA Executive Committee in 1985 and served on it until 1990. The USGA named him Honorary Chairman of the USGA Foundation Board of Directors from 1991 to 1995 in recognition of his many services to that organization. Sometime during the mid-1980's, Bobby got a call from his old friend Robert Trent Jones, who told him that he had found a piece of land near Gainesville , Virginia, that was perfect for a great golf course, and that he had bought it. He wanted to build his "signature" course on the land, but having bought the land, he needed additional funds to build the golf course. Bobby looked into the issue and in 1991, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, RTJ, for short, was organized. Bobby was one of the founding trustees and served as president for seven years. He arranged for the first four President's Cup Matches to be played at Robert Trent Jones. Bobby was on the Committee for some of the early President Cup tournament matches and on those occasions met Presidents Ford, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush and Clinton. When Bobby was asked if he had played golf with any of them, he replied, a trifle grumpily, "only with President Clinton". One of the more vexatious tasks assigned to him was arranging a lunch to be attended by some of the early greats of golf and President George H. W. Bush, who had suggested that he would greatly enjoy such an occasion. This was a difficult assignment, but in the end, Bobby got Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, and Sam Snead into Washington and to the lunch table in the White House. Ben Hogan had also agreed to attend, but became ill at the last minute and had to withdraw. Bobby was a generous man. A list of his benefactions cannot at this point be found. Those who remember it recall that it included a wide range of activities and included such organizations as the Boy Scouts of New York City, the First Tee golf program in Florida, universities, and hospitals. The gifts often were more than supportive but were enabling, in the sense that the recipients were able to begin additional activities and multiply the value of the gift. He often formatted his gifts in unusual ways. For example, when the Downtown Athletic Club of New York, owner of the Heisman Trophy, developed severe financial problems, Bobby purchased the trophy from it. The Heisman Trophy continued to be awarded annually to the best college football player of the year by the Club as it always had been. After the Club rationalized its financial position, Bobby returned ownership of the Heisman to it. When one looks back and thinks of Bobby Russell, one remembers a warm and friendly man with a wonderful sense of humor who willingly took on challenges and opportunities. When there was no opportunity in his native Fort Worth during the depths of the Great Depression, he travelled to New York while still a teenager to find it. When the Mexican guest worker insurance program was announced, he could see value in it rather than problems. He made a brilliant success of it. He became a highly respected leader in the insurance industry. He made significant contributions to the game of golf that he loved. He always viewed everyone with respect. Bobby will be deeply missed and remembered by his family, friends, colleagues and all who knew him. A graveside service will be held in Manchester, Vermont on October 22nd at 11:00.