Russell James McCreven

1939 - 2025

Russell James McCreven
January 14, 1939 ~ October 18, 2025
Russell James McCreven, 86, of West Haven, CT, passed away peacefully, after a long battle with Parkinson's, surrounded by love, on October 18, 2025. Born on January 14, 1939, he was a son of Edward J. McCreven, Sr. and Mabel Berthrong Russell McCreven. He was predeceased by his brother Edward J. McCreven Jr., and his beloved wife of 44 years, Ann Hackett McCreven.
A graduate of West Haven High School (Class of 1956), Quinnipiac College, and Fairfield University, after service in the National Guard, Russell devoted his career to teaching at West Haven High School. He retired in 1996 after 35 years, having served as head of the Social Studies department since 1965. He was also teacher's union WHFT (AFL-CIO) president in the early 1970s.
A passionate "Westie," his lifetime love of local sports included work announcing WHHS hockey games and his second career as a photographer and sportswriter. For decades, he could be spotted on the sidelines with his camera, documenting the achievements of generations of student athletes. He was inducted into the West Haven Athletics Hall of Fame and was honored to receive the Tinker Blake Community Service Award in 2022.
Russell is survived by his four children and their families, Sharon McCreven and Stephen Gourdier, and their children Jack Henry (and Danielle) Gumkowski and their children Jane and Ethan, and Lydia Gourdier and her children Haylie, Aurora, and Logan; Sheila McCreven and Michael Sean Helfenbein, and their children Michael Dylan, Jason Russell, and Katriana Lindsey Helfenbein; Sean McCreven and Kim Dillman McCreven, and their children Nicolas James (and Lara) and Jake Patrick McCreven; and Melinda Ann McCreven and her daughter Oona Ann McCreven Gottschalk.
He is also survived by nephews Sean Patrick Verlo, Mark Steven McCreven, Jeffrey and Robert (and Angela) Hackett, and his brother-in-law Bernard Skip (and Judy) Hackett. The family wishes to thank with deep gratitude his longtime aid Yaw Agya for his devoted care.
Visitation Thursday, October 23 from 5-8 p.m. will be followed by a funeral service at Keenan Funeral Home, West Haven, on October 24, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery. Donations in his memory can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Doctor's Without Borders, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.