RUSSELL Henry Toepfer was born April 7, 1920, in Charles City, Iowa, on his mother's birthday! His father, CARL, was 23 and his mother, MARY, was 22. He joined an older sister, Marie; a younger brother, Bob, joined the family in 1923. Russell's father and grandfather owned and ran a favorite local grocery store, the Toepfer Grocery, in Charles City that sold everything! Russ was a Boy Scout. He grew up happy in Charles City, with his "gang" that lived in the tornado shelter, skating on the Cedar River frozen in winter, spending some of the summer out at the Carey family farm in Chickasaw. In the late 1920s dad told of a trip to California or Oregon with his mother and sister and brother in their Model-T, across Wyoming, no highways, camping in peoples' barns along the way. Apparently, they returned to Iowa, but his mother and the kids moved to southern California for good in the 1930s. Mary's marriage to Carl was an unhappy one. CARL and his mother, ANNA, seemed to have visited California a couple of times in the late 1930s, trying to convince MARY to return to Iowa, to no avail. Russ graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1938 and then enrolled in Woodbury College in Los Angeles, where he studied art. During summers, Russ worked at body-building and for the U.S. Merchant Marines to earn college tuition. When the U.S. entered WW II after Pearl Harbor he stayed with the Merchant Marines and began a life of travel, training and danger that lasted six years. He was certified a Third Mate on Steam & Motor Vehicles in January 1945 and became a skilled navigator. He traveled the world, Calcutta, Alexandria, Bombay, Chile, South Africa, New Hebrides, the Panama Canal Zone--his ship was blown up in the Mediterranean, but most survived. He was briefly married to Donna Heinze in 1946, which didn't work out and he left California for Colorado in 1947 to visit his brother, Bob, who had moved to Denver after his service in the South Pacific. The "visit" never ended. Russ found a job at The Denver Post, and later joined the Securities Credit Corporation as an insurance adjustor, something Russ was very skilled at (soothing the ruffled feathers of irate insurance customers)! In April 1949, he met widow FRANCES Alice Duff and her 3 yr. old son, Benjamin Duff II. He married FRANCES Alice Williams Duff on June 17, 1949, in Denver, Colorado. Thus, began a long and happy marriage of 62 years. Stepson Ben Duff never knew another father. They had two daughters during their marriage, Laura Lynne and Abby Susan. Russ' main creative outlets in his life were building a solid little cabin with a view of Shadow Mountain Lake in Grand County and acting. He began "pre-fabbing" the cabin in the garage at So. Humboldt St. in 1958 and continued "improving" the Last Resort until his death (taking it from a 2-room tar-papered covered shack to a four-room, 700+ sq. foot cabin with electricity and running water, bath and shower) plus a garage and deck. The 1960s brought the Church and the Arts Program at Washington Park United Church of Christ, with talented director (from L.A.) Jack Booch and Bob Calderwood lending their energies. Russ was a favorite lead role player, playing the Stage Manager in "Our Town", in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", as Mr. McAfee in "Bye-Bye, Birdie", Juror #4 in "Twelve Angry Men", "The Colonel" in "Where's Charley?", the Colonel in "Tea House of the August Moon". He moved on to plays at Bonfils Theater on E. Colfax ("A Servant of Two Masters", "Mame", "A Man and His Mountain"). Perhaps, the culmination of his acting career was a 30-second spot in a Bank of Denver commercial. In the early 1980s he bought an Airstream trailer and a Jeep Eagle truck to haul it. Thus, began the "Trailer Adventures" to Oregon (where Abby had relocated), to Kelley's Island, to Virginia... Fran was game for a while but soon tired of all the breakdowns and delays. The "airplane" (as grandson, Ricky dubbed it) retired to a spot behind the cabin where it served as back-up lodging until the 2000s. Russ had a bad fall at the cabin in 2005. He & Fran moved to the Englewood Meridian in Sept. 2009. In November he broke his hip. He carried on as best he could from then. He continued his voracious reading and enjoyed excursions with the nearby Johnson Center until the end. He died on November 11, 2011, in Englewood, Colorado, at the age of 91, having lived a full and productive life, imparting laughter and love to those who knew him. "Chuckle Russ" describes him well.
RUSSELL Henry Toepfer was born April 7, 1920, in Charles City, Iowa, on his mother's birthday! His father, CARL, was 23 and his mother, MARY, was 22. He joined an older sister, Marie; a younger brother, Bob, joined the family in 1923. Russell's father and grandfather owned and ran a favorite local grocery store, the Toepfer Grocery, in Charles City that sold everything! Russ was a Boy Scout. He grew up happy in Charles City, with his "gang" that lived in the tornado shelter, skating on the Cedar River frozen in winter, spending some of the summer out at the Carey family farm in Chickasaw. In the late 1920s dad told of a trip to California or Oregon with his mother and sister and brother in their Model-T, across Wyoming, no highways, camping in peoples' barns along the way. Apparently, they returned to Iowa, but his mother and the kids moved to southern California for good in the 1930s. Mary's marriage to Carl was an unhappy one. CARL and his mother, ANNA, seemed to have visited California a couple of times in the late 1930s, trying to convince MARY to return to Iowa, to no avail. Russ graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1938 and then enrolled in Woodbury College in Los Angeles, where he studied art. During summers, Russ worked at body-building and for the U.S. Merchant Marines to earn college tuition. When the U.S. entered WW II after Pearl Harbor he stayed with the Merchant Marines and began a life of travel, training and danger that lasted six years. He was certified a Third Mate on Steam & Motor Vehicles in January 1945 and became a skilled navigator. He traveled the world, Calcutta, Alexandria, Bombay, Chile, South Africa, New Hebrides, the Panama Canal Zone--his ship was blown up in the Mediterranean, but most survived. He was briefly married to Donna Heinze in 1946, which didn't work out and he left California for Colorado in 1947 to visit his brother, Bob, who had moved to Denver after his service in the South Pacific. The "visit" never ended. Russ found a job at The Denver Post, and later joined the Securities Credit Corporation as an insurance adjustor, something Russ was very skilled at (soothing the ruffled feathers of irate insurance customers)! In April 1949, he met widow FRANCES Alice Duff and her 3 yr. old son, Benjamin Duff II. He married FRANCES Alice Williams Duff on June 17, 1949, in Denver, Colorado. Thus, began a long and happy marriage of 62 years. Stepson Ben Duff never knew another father. They had two daughters during their marriage, Laura Lynne and Abby Susan. Russ' main creative outlets in his life were building a solid little cabin with a view of Shadow Mountain Lake in Grand County and acting. He began "pre-fabbing" the cabin in the garage at So. Humboldt St. in 1958 and continued "improving" the Last Resort until his death (taking it from a 2-room tar-papered covered shack to a four-room, 700+ sq. foot cabin with electricity and running water, bath and shower) plus a garage and deck. The 1960s brought the Church and the Arts Program at Washington Park United Church of Christ, with talented director (from L.A.) Jack Booch and Bob Calderwood lending their energies. Russ was a favorite lead role player, playing the Stage Manager in "Our Town", in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", as Mr. McAfee in "Bye-Bye, Birdie", Juror #4 in "Twelve Angry Men", "The Colonel" in "Where's Charley?", the Colonel in "Tea House of the August Moon". He moved on to plays at Bonfils Theater on E. Colfax ("A Servant of Two Masters", "Mame", "A Man and His Mountain"). Perhaps, the culmination of his acting career was a 30-second spot in a Bank of Denver commercial. In the early 1980s he bought an Airstream trailer and a Jeep Eagle truck to haul it. Thus, began the "Trailer Adventures" to Oregon (where Abby had relocated), to Kelley's Island, to Virginia... Fran was game for a while but soon tired of all the breakdowns and delays. The "airplane" (as grandson, Ricky dubbed it) retired to a spot behind the cabin where it served as back-up lodging until the 2000s. Russ had a bad fall at the cabin in 2005. He & Fran moved to the Englewood Meridian in Sept. 2009. In November he broke his hip. He carried on as best he could from then. He continued his voracious reading and enjoyed excursions with the nearby Johnson Center until the end. He died on November 11, 2011, in Englewood, Colorado, at the age of 91, having lived a full and productive life, imparting laughter and love to those who knew him. "Chuckle Russ" describes him well.
