Note still clings to the family bulletin board. . . .He left it 3 years ago. . . .

Listen closely!

There has to be something about a garden and it’s relationship to spiritual growth. I remember spending much now treasured time with him here. I don’t remember any year that Russell did not have some kind of a special birthday party and they seem to be continuing with great spiritual energy from the plants and the times we shared and spent loving to to work together here. I’m not going spooky on you. . . but, His presence here is stronger than I ever thought possible and I’m still learning more about fathers and sons and family.and God in each visit to this blessed special area.
I love you Russell

> > > > > > > > > >

Russell joined the Scouts pretty much on his own. . . .

I was the commissioner for his troup. An honor bestowed upon me by good friend, Jack Stomakin, the mayor of Schertz, Texas and DeMolay and Cub Scout Master. Also (KOT2804) President of a local CB group club.

Russell and I camped many times and he learned to hike and cook mulligan stew. He made it many times on his “cook Day” at home.

Russell and a close scouting friend decided to run away from home . . . .in fact he and Terry McCoy hitch hiked all the way to Oklahoma carrying a fishing pole and scout back packs. When he got back. . . I ask him why he decided to run away and he said, “Terry was running away and I just decided to go with him”.

I then said, as I always did,”Did you learn anything?” And he said, “Yes, Every truck driver on I-35 knows who you are even up into Oklahoma. . . and told me you wanted me back home. . . .did you get my message they relayed back that I was coming?”

I told him, “I did and had marked your progress on my log book all the way till the door knob turned’.

Terry moved into Russell’s room for about 2 months and helped him with his paper route. They often talked about their adventure and the new fishing rod and reel they left under a bridge in North Texas. . . . and how many truck drivers knew his dad by with a set of stacked sixes on a 65 foot Rhone tower pushing a Johnson thunderbolt final signal with a Browning Eagle and answers to the “skip” handle “The Colonel”!

We listened for about 3 days to people in all the United States and several foreign countries of how Russell and Terry were found and were back home safely. This story always seemed to make a smile on his face. . . .

This was just another chapter in the life of “Russell Whipple”. . . .sometimes I thought he lived several chapters a day. When you look back and ask yourself “How is this world is different for his having been here. . . Is it a better place for his having been here? No doubt he touched peoples hearts with his so basic life’s values and the thousands of people that had their transportation renewed by his fabulously expert “better than new” rebuilt Volkswagen engines. . . .and the wonderful beautiful daughter he left for the world to know.

I love you Russell!

Dad

One of the most popular trail bikes we had was this tiny Honda 50cc QA50. I think all of my kids started on this one on the trails at Fort Sam Houston a few blocks from our house. We rode down the railroad easement and did not need a license plate or drivers license.

All of us learned that life is like a good motorcycle ride. . . . .even me!

WE WERE INDESTRUCTIBLE! . . . . . .ALMOST!

It wasn’t just a regular backyard. . . .It was a world of exciting things happening every minute. . . .It was our backyard on Glendora, 1967. . . .a really close loving family place as I remember.. . there was always something to do. The railroad tie fence we built, the 60ft Olympic size pool and the Crosley dump truck all my kids learned to drive in, our motorboat that always ran so well. basketball board. bar-b-que pit, The shop outback where always something was being built, (not shown in picture) The gravel we spread and lawn shows the love of the life we lived.

I Just picked up this picture and realized it was a great life and the memory is a blessing. . . .

AND HIS CHRISTMAS TREE. . . .

Russell had a special appreciation for plants, He learned most of this from his grandfather who took time to explain how they lived and died and renewed.
He saw this tree at Albertson’s and thought how great it would to just keep the same tree alive to enjoy.

He loved living plants. . . .

SUNRISE

by Lizette Anne Shilling

I Held out my Hand
To Feel The Morning’s Wind
Within it Landed
A Wish to Begin

Caught From A Star Fading Now
As Day Comes To Break
A Wish Whispers How
Tomorrow Will Remake

This Perfect Mix Of Birds And Song
These Spring Sounds Meant To Get Along
And I Can’t Help But Think of Wrongs
All the Suffering That Doesn’t Belong

How Can I Bath in Natures Love
Sometime I Love to the Sky Above
For All Pain All Needs to End
As Chaotic Rulers Defend

Their Right to Destroy Earth
Our Home, Our Heart, Our Right by Birth
What Power Madness Drives Them So
Guess They Only Have One Goal

To Win at All Costs
No Matter the Loss

Starvation Mis education
Abusive Oppression
Reign and Rule with Money’s Power

But
Right Now
It Is Sunrise’s
Golden Hour

She seems to capture thoughts that are hard to convey well and She had no problem understanding Russell. . . .She has Russell’s same problems. He was looking for someone to help him understand why people thought less of him because he was epileptic.. . .all the people who became his friends and left him after they witnessed a seizure and his epilepsy condition. He had mood swings because of his medication.

They would be talking on the phone when I left for work. . . .and were still talking when I returned. She bought him garden books and magazines and little surprise presents.

Russell was very interested in his ancestry. He had ordered book on ” Whipple”. . . .This Shield was most of what he got, but, He wasn’t through looking.

Russell would seek out every known fish’n hole around. I think this one was hidden just about a half mile from the shop behind the North Hampton Subdivision.

Tiffany Gail Whipple @ 6 Months Old!. . . .

Dance Skaters. . . .

. . . . .Sister Renee. . . . . . Russell. . . . . . .. Mother, Ann. . . . .

Russell was into bowling big time. He boweled on two major leagues and bowled a 186 average. He had a powerful pocket hook that scattered pins and I could always find his lane in a crowded bowling alley by the unique noise it made. He had two special fitted balls one to pulverize the pins and one to spare with.

We went years when I would beat him by one point. . . . .and then he got hard to beat. . .and then he begin beating me by one point. That is the way the father son thing works when it is working right. . . .

We never got to play our last game. . . .I hope one day Tiffany will beat me and I can hang it up. . . .

It either was a little bitty teddy bear . . . . . .or a great big teddy bear. . . .

Whoever spoke first!

Actually we built this from a kit supplied by a customer. It got one of Russell’s bulletproof engines and my assembly handicraft.

We planed to build one of our own someday but that never happened. . . .The customer said he would let us use it and I think we just waited too long. . . . .but it did well in our dreams.

Russell loved motorcycles and they were hard to give up. . . .taking on regular bicycling as his biking pash paying almost $1400 for an expensive Trek only to realize he could not use it because he could not take it anywhere in fear of it being lost or stolen. His disappointment was rewarded by finding high tech feathers in a $149 model that he bought at Academy. He added extras that solved his transportation problem. The Via bus rack was great for longer trips. It also helped his health issues and I remember following him to get groceries at speeds up to 30 mph for 5 miles or more. He dreamed of riding with me again and bought me one. . . .but, I just could not stay up with him.

I remember one day he pointed out that he had averaged 35 miles a day for a years worth of riding recorded in his digital control center. . . I was impressed! This went on for years. . . .his legs were like locomotive stroker rods. . . .big and powerful.

One day I ask him. . . . .do you miss your motorcycles?. . . .and he said,” Yes, I do, but, I would miss the health I have gained more.”

I think one of Russell’s inspirations of learning the bus system as well as he did was he knew how his Granddad who was handicapped used the bus system all his life and Russell was so proud of him solving those problems by “putting a cap on handicap” and do whatever he had to do to go around the problem instead of letting it stop him.

I don’t think I knew of anyone that had such a upbeat attitude for life and accomplishment as Russell and soon earned a reputation of being “head strong and determined.” Although his mood swing due to his epilepsy medication and the full of the moon was an obstacle in dealing with people at times. Relationships were saved usually by the massive love he had in his heart.

It was a rocky ride at times but so worth it! If you averaged the highest high and the lowest low. . . .he was still above us all.

Russell was always full of life. . . He appreciated every minute of every day. . . .

Thank You Lord for the 12,790 days he had here. . . .He used them well.

This picture was very poor in quality and I looked at it a long time and worked on it in Photoshop and I can see 5 minutes out of one of those days is a precious memory. . . . .

Russell wanted a son to work on cars with. . . .He and I built Daniel a 1963 collectible sunroof rag.

Pretty Sharp!

This is one of four 356 “Porsche” speedster replicars we built. 2 black ones for a rock band in Dallas. A red one for High School automotive shop teacher, and a grey one that I still have for myself. Russell and I worked as a team. Neither one of us could have done what we did alone. We worked together 12 hours a day from 1976 to 1996. It was so much fun . . . when we went home. . . .we could not wait to get back to work.

Sounds crazy. . . .but, It’s true.

The original Volksmith Shop (1976-1980) was located on FM2252 just North of Bracken, Texas. It had been an abandoned goat dairy barn with out doors, windows or fences. It was not in rentable condition when we found it and I made an agreement with Joanita Reed the lady that owned it and rented it for $75 a month and repair.

A lesson learned here is “If you you are really, really good at what you do the world will find you anywhere”.

Location, location, location, means business success for the mundane. We had hundreds of cars coming from Dallas and Houston, Austin, and even out of state. It was the smiling face hanging out a happy Volkswagen window that sold another engine. . . . .5,500 in all!

Russell was still living in his room at the house when we started here we worked daylight to dark everyday.
neither one of us could hardly wait to get back to work the next morning. Our work was the so rewarding . . . there wasn’t anything we would rather do. We worked everyday together for over 20 years, Most Fathers ans sons don’t get to share this kind of blessng. . . .

. . .It was that much fun!

Russell’s first really good car. He bought it from Ray Welty who had bought it new.

He bought it for $1000 and borrowed the money from Mary Whipple because he still was not old enough to legally borrow money.

He drove Mary Holbrook to Little Rock Arkansas for an operation and had his first real out of state vacation on his own. He left a boy and came back a man.

We guys always remember our first real car and our first real girlfriend.

I built this 30″ X 60′ 5 bay two story building on a half acre lot in the late 70’s when Russell
was still at the FM2252 location. It was a high grade overbuilt 18ft wall insulated bolt up design with a 1800 gallon septic tank and six live oak trees. 6ft Industrial grade 9 gauge fence. Russell paid for the lot and fence and I lent him the money for the building materials from the sale of my retirement income duplex on Rigsby avenue. . .@ 0% interest.

His business education came from my doing a little less every day. . . so he would need to do a little more . . . kinda like a “real life” 12 hour a day class. You would be surprised how easy success is if you apply this “Mother Earth” learning concept. It’s kind of like the old Indian philosophy of the flight of the eagle. . . ” the higher you fly.. . .the more you see. . . .and the more you see. . . .the higher you want to fly”.

HE WILL BE REMEMBERED. . . .

Terry McCoy and Russell Whipple. . .

2nd and 3rd from left . . .

After these two buddys ran away from home hitch hiking to Oklahoma. . . .I got them into the Boy Scouts for a little safer adventuring. I joined myself as commissioner for the Alamo Council just to keep an eye on them. These pictures were taken on a 2 nigher camp out at Canyon Lake. We had a star gaze Friday night and a fish fry with singing campfire Saturday night.

Russell was a hit with his camping tested “Mulligan Stew” and apple cobbler in a Dutch oven.. . .and. Oh yes, He caught the most fish. He was in serious trouble for disobeying the Scout Master and seeking off to the water in the wee hours of the morning. . . . until he pulled up his stringer. The Scout Master changed his mind about his punishment.

Russell seemed to always have his own agenda. . . .but, all his teachers seemed to love him after the moment of crisis was over.

It is in poor shape, but, when they were new they were very snappy.

The cut (picture) of letterpress printing tools (hand roller, type stick and line gauge) was drawn by me in about 1956 and it was my trademark for The Highland Press (The name of my shop). It was painted on the doors of my 1952 Ford F1 delivery truck that I had to sell to pay for my son Leslie being born. . . . .Wow! the history in this!

Second Row Far Left. . . .

First Row Far Left. . . .

Russell was proud of this and it was a big turning point in his life. It was awarded by The Texas Diabetes Institute to educate sufferers of a very mysterious and serious disease, The education worked for him and I never have seen anyone so dedicated to solving the problem.

I was taking Russell to his appointments and sitting in on his checkouts and His doctor told me herself that
Russell was her model patient and his dis-ease had reversed and when he showed her his diet logbooks and pictures of his garden. She said.” You could be the teacher of that course” and he was beaming and talking a plan of doing it. Russell wasn’t anywhere close to being ready to go. . . .and he taught me so much!

For years Russell ate only the very best healthy whole grain bread, usually home made and vegetable based balanced food like you see here. The pulp from the juicer made an excellent base for a hush puppy like bread. I miss this way of life. I was getting healthy too. He read more books during this time than I have read in my whole life cover to cover. . . .and I was beginning to ask him how to spell words.

If I had not been there to witness the amazing change in Russell’s health I would have not believed it. His
blood sugar levels flattened to better than normal which astounded his doctor and his seizure count had dropped to about 4 a month. He went 3 months without having any and they were not knocking him out like they had before which was the new danger that led to his death.

I had noted a new “fight” within him trying to fight through the seizure trying to get up. He would get up and try to walk his way out of it. Sometimes he would raise his head up and drop it back to the floor causing bigger cuts and bruises. It was a problem. . . .I guess we just did not figure it out soon enough.