Hello, I was stunned to learn of the untimely passing  of your beloved relative,

Russell Blount.Russ and I shared many good times at Phi Sigma Kappa in Boston.

My deepest sympathies and condolences to all of you on your loss.

Deb, I am shocked and saddened to learn of Russ' passing.  I can't imagine the pain each of you have experienced.   My heart goes out to you.

I remember when you and Russ first met and how excited you were in each other's presence.   I'll never forget when you were hospitalized and how kind Russ was to you and all of us.  He was a good man. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Diane 

Russ was handsome, kind, so intelligent, and incredibly compassionate and empathetic, which was so evident in his dedication to and love of his job. He worked with passion and unwavering commitment to improve the lives of those around him, especially those less fortunate.

He loved Deb and he loved his kids, and with Deb created a wonderful family. His loss is unspeakably sad, but he left the world a much better place and improved the lives of many.

With love and condolences,
Barb

Dear Deb and family. I a so sorry for your loss.  Russ was one in a billion. Everyone who got to know him at Vesper understood he was a gentle man and a fierce competitor.  All of us who had the privilege to row with and know Russ came away better because of it.   My sincere condolences.  

My sincere condolences to the Blount Family. Through elementary and high school with his son, it was always great to see Mr. Blount when we'd be at his property or see him at a school function. In AP math classes Drew always knew the solutions to the hardest problems, and more than once he taught us a trick his dad had showed him. It is great to see these photos and learn more about him.

Russ was truly one of the most soft speaking but hard working rowers I had the pleasure of rowing with.  We spent a lot of time together in the pair and I remember those days very fondly.  Although we did not manage to stay in touch as much as I would have liked and only reconnected on social media recently, I'll miss him greatly.

RIP Russ

While it's been years the memory of rowing with you stays with me like it was yesterday.    To family, our deepest condolences from John & Steph.   Make a memory today for tomorrow is never promised! 

Deb and Carolyn, I was totally shocked this morning to hear from a mutual friend that Russ had died last month.  We spent some great times together rowing and competing at a very high level back in the 1980's, he was such a hard worker and team player, I have totally fond memories of our time together.

I lost touch with him the last 10 years or so, but when we last met we were in our mid-50's and he told me of his retirement plan of planting trees all over his property that would mature and be harvested right when he was ready to retire. A very unique solution that required a great amount of hard work over a sustained period of time to be successful, like how he approached rowing. I am not surprised that he was so successful in his career in Fife.

I can't imagine the shock and grief of suddenly losing such an engaging, warm, thoughtful person as Russ. Know that my thought and prayers are with you and his kids. I will spread this sad news among his rowing friends.

Yours Sincerely

Brian Colgan

Photo on display at Vesper Boat Club

Pan Am Games Silver medal ceremony

Gaant Catalog photo shoot on Vesper dock

Pan Am Games opening ceremony

Russ and his parents at the Pan American Games trials

Sending deepest sympathy to the Blount family from all of us at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber. We appreciated the passion and dedication Russ brought to his work as a public servent and are grateful for his friendship.

My condolences to the Blount family. I first met Russ when I came to work for the City of Fife. Russ was an amazing person to work with, he always had a ready smile and made time for me. Russ provided me with a lot of insight and assistance over many years of working with him. Little did I know, many years after leaving Fife , that I would be fortunate enough to have him as my neighbor.

When something like this happens, it leaves everyone figuring out how to pick up the pieces.  Russ leaves behind a lasting memory of friendship and kindness. My thoughts and prayers are with the Blount family.

I would like to express my sincerest condolences to the Blount Family and the City of Fife Family for your tragic loss. Russ was truly a great man and one of a kind. I had the privilege of working with Russ for 12+ years. When I first began work for the City, he was very helpful to me in learning about the City and the community. I considered him a mentor in many ways providing insight in to working with the city council, staff and others in the community. As this was my first Department Director (Parks & Recreation) position, he also taught me a great deal about how to be a director and work effectively with the Executive Management Team and the City Council. And for that I was very grateful. After a very short time on the job, and getting to know him a bit better, he asked me if I wanted to attend his daughter's basketball game at Columbia Jr. High just down the street from City Hall. We did so and enjoyed watching the game and talking about our children. I knew then and there that we would be good friends as well as co-workers. Over the years Russ was instrumental in the success of many Parks projects, especially Brookville Gardens. He was always willing to offer assistance in any way he could to help others be successful. Again, my condolences to the City and the Blount Family.

I worked for an engineering company that had the good fortune of working for Russ and the City of Fife on the design of some of the City’s major transportation projects, beginning in 2008. Over the course of my career, I came in contact with, and had an opportunity to know, a fair number of people who served public agencies in the same, or similar capacity, as Russ did. These are challenging roles and I cannot think of a single person who had as much of impact on his organization as Russ did.

The projects Russ was implementing were complicated technically, legally, socially, and financially. He always kept on top of the key issues and was instrumental in creating the collaborative environment required for solving the complex project problems and successfully completing them. Most importantly, he was supportive of City staff, our staff, and the many individuals working for a variety of public agencies tasked with legal and financial oversight of the city’s projects.

I retired last fall. After a year and half of remote team meetings, I had been looking forward to visiting with Russ in person again in a nonprofessional capacity. It is sad that it will no longer be possible to do this. Unfortunately, I will be traveling in November to visit family for Thanksgiving and will also miss the celebration of his life. I feel fortunate to have known Russ and extend my sincere condolences to his family and coworkers at the City of Fife.

Deb might dispute this, but I consider myself to be responsible for Deb and Russ meeting, getting together.

It was the early 1980’s and I was preparing to leave in a few days for an extended assignment in Saudi Arabia for my Philadelphia employer. Shortly before leaving I was informed by management that a new, young, employee would be accompanying me, and I was to train him in the analytical techniques that we used.

This last minute surprise was not welcome: I never met the guy, he was too recently out of school, I didn’t know his background, I had no part in selecting or interviewing him, and I wasn’t interested in having an ‘assistant’. It was going to be hard enough getting the work done without having to babysit some neophyte.

The neophyte was Russ.

It wasn’t long, after getting into the weeds of the work (analyzing a Saudi offshore oil construction claim) that all my misgivings melted away. This guy was different: he was smart, more than smart, but modest. He picked up the methodology quickly but without a trace of pedantry.

Well, maybe there was a trace: I asked him to make an outline for our report expecting a one-page list of a handful of topics. What I got was a multi-paged abstract with five or six levels of indent for each of a dozen or more headings. We could have submitted the outline as our report!

All the while, working with complex data, Russ maintained a great sense of humor, and a sense of adventure. My preference was to take our evening meals at the hotel which was a western oasis in an exotic backwater. Russ insisted that we explore the local eateries where we were the only customers not dressed in robes and headdresses. He found ‘restaurants’ where we selected our food by pointing, and always came away with full bellies for less than the equivalent of a couple of US dollars.

Our friendship continued back in Philadelphia where both Russ and I were renovating houses a few blocks apart. I was grateful for his youthful vigor when I enlisted him to assist me in installing some heavy steel reinforcing beams.

How does this all relate to the first line of this missive? Well, it doesn’t all relate. But the back in Philadelphia part does. I had been invited to a party and thought Russ might be interested in going as I knew there would be single women there, among them was Deb. He came… the rest is history.

Though I haven’t seen Russ in many years, I will miss him and his infectious, genuine, smile. I offer my sincere condolences to Deb and family and all of the many of us who wish we could share one more chat, one more meal, one more laugh, with this dear man.

MIT rowers at the women’s collegiate national rowing championship — with Russ Blount and Mike Nuttel

MIT rowers at the women’s collegiate national rowing championship

Russ was among the best of the best of all the people I worked with over the past 50+ years. Compassionate, caring, honest, conscientious,  and trustworthy, his passing leaves a great hole for his family and the people of Fife.