Russell Call

1937 - 2025

Russell "Russ" Call laid his fly rod to rest on October 25th, 2025, peacefully asleep with his beloved wife, Sandy, and youngest son at his side. Born May 17th, 1937, in Santa Rosa, CA, to Arthur and Lucille Call, Russ enjoyed an adventurous childhood in Cloverdale, CA-surviving homemade boiler cannons, gas-powered model airplanes, and a legendary chemistry set that might have inspired a zoning ordinance or two. He graduated from Cloverdale Union High School in 1956, already known for curiosity, quick wit, and an instinct for fixing whatever broke.

Russ served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1956–60, rising to Second Class Engineman while stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Avoyel and at several lighthouses including Trinidad Head. After his service, he earned an AA in Electronic Engineering Technology in San Francisco while living with his first wife, Joyce Carlson. Together they raised three children while Russ built a distinguished career at Argonne National Laboratory (1963–76), working with cutting-edge instrumentation and computer systems.

The family later moved to the Tri-Cities, where Russ served as a design engineer for the WPPS 3/5 project before returning as a Senior NDE Engineer and retiring early in 1992. Retirement, however, was just a suggestion. Russ continued consulting in robotics and automation and married Sandra Lucus in 1992. The two shared years of adventure-traveling widely, growing a small vineyard, dancing late into the night, and returning to college together to earn BA degrees in Business Administration when Russ turned 60.

Russ loved nothing more than time with family whether walking medieval streets in Europe, exploring the Oregon Coast, or figuring out how to repair the unrepairable. A lifelong machinist and electrician, he became the person people called when something truly complicated broke and hope was fading.

His second great passion was fly fishing, and the Bitterroot River was his sanctuary, though he also found community on the water-rowing the Colorado, the Lower Salmon, the Middle Fork, the Main Salmon, and the Selway. Well into his later years, he made one last trip down the Lower Salmon, walker trolley in tow, as intrepid as ever.

Russ was preceded in death by his parents, sister Doris Kothgassner, and brother Wayne Call. He is survived by his wife Sandra; children Dale, Brenda, and Douglas; and five grandchildren: Emery, Kaia, Madison, Thomas, and Erika.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of Disabled Veterans. A viewing will be held at Muellers Tri-City Funeral Home (1401 S Union St, Kennewick, WA), November 14, 12-2 p.m. followed by a reception across the street at the Highlands Grange Building (1500 S Union St) from 2 to 4. A Celebration of Life will be held in the spring.