Henry Russell Platt III

1927 - 2020

Henry Russell Platt III - originally from Evanston, and a long-time resident of Wilmette, passed away peacefully April 28 2020 at the age of 92. Russ was a devoted family man, ardent golfer and optimist, and longtime railroad company executive. He was loved for his boundless good humor, his upbeat attitude and his rallying catch phrases, including the one most familiar to all who knew him, "Tally ho the fox!" Russ enjoyed planting his flower beds each season, was a voracious reader and a great lover of sports-especially tennis and, even more so, golf. For some time, he was the longest, continuous member of Glen View Club, first joining as a junior member in 1945. The way he golfed, always keeping the ball down the middle of the fairway in a very consistent fashion, even into his later years, reflected his approach to life: keep an even keel, always be in a good mood, and appreciate what you have. Hence, another of his phrases, "Keep smiling!" Russ's ancestors founded Plattsburgh, NY, and his grandfather was a founding partner in the Chicago based law firm Mayer, Brown & Platt. Russ was born September 7, 1927 and grew up in Evanston, with summers spent at Camp Highlands for Boys in Sayner, WI. He graduated from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, MA, in 1945, and went on to attend Williams College where he majored in economics, played varsity tennis and squash, and was a member of the Zeta Psi Fraternity. Due to the nation's war effort, he was in an accelerated year-round program, graduating in just three years, in 1948. He would later graduate from the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program. Between college graduation and his first job, he entered the army, where he was stationed in Greenland for six months and finished his service achieving the rank of 1st lieutenant. His railroad career began at North American Car Corporation (NACC) in the mid-1950s. Learning the business from the ground up, he started in a railroad repair shop in Tulsa, OK, but quickly moved to the New York City office to begin more than a half-century career in sales and marketing in the railroad transportation and leasing industry. In 1957, still in New York, he would meet and marry his wife of 57 years, Ann Barbara Crampton of Southgate, England, who taught physical education at the Brearley School, and The Chapin School, in Manhattan. They had their first of three children, Peter R. Platt, while living in Peter Cooper Village. In 1959 Russ was transferred back to Chicago and moved to Wilmette, where his second and third children were born; Alison M. Platt and Alan Q. Platt. During this time Russ remained with NACC, becoming Senior VP of Marketing and Sales, and following a merger with Flying Tiger Line, NACC became the most diversified railcar leasing company in the industry, thanks in no small part, to Russ's sales and marketing team. After twenty-three years with NACC, Russ left the company to join Richmond Tank Car as a sales executive. Russ then went on to finish his career working for PLM in Chicago. He is survived by his brother, Peter V. Platt (married to Anne H. Platt); his three children, Peter R. Platt (married to Meredith Kennard), Alison P. Kendall (married to Peter A. Kendall), Alan Q. Platt (married to Jennifer P. Bernardi); and six grandchildren, Alexander and Jessica, William and Emily, and Livia and Russell.

The past five years of Russ's life have been spent happily at Westminster Place – a Presbyterian Homes community in Evanston, IL. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to their charitable arm, the Geneva Foundation, via their online portal at https://presbyterianhomes.org/foundation/. Or to the charitable arm of Glen View Club, known as the Glen View Club Scholarship Foundation, also via their online portal at https://www.glenviewclub.com/employment/scholarship-foundation-467.html. Both foundations support the educational opportunities of their employees. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.