Tag Archives: Russell Minkwitz

a Canton High scrapbook

 

https://archive.org/details/echocantonhighsc1963unse/mode/2up

 

These pages are from The Echo (the Canton High School yearbook) for 1963, my junior year.

I have selected pages and photos of students and teachers I remember.  It’s a personal post in that sense.

The yearbook is online on Internet Archive (link above). You may need to be a registered user to log in.

 

— Roger W. Smith

   March 2023

 

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sister of the late John Bosanquet, my classmate, who died in a tragic accident in my sophomore year

 

a neighbor and close friend

 

Jeff Coady, Brad’s brother, was a good friend.  So was Dawn Gardner, sister of my classmate Billy Gardner.

 

Fosdick (Dyke) Harrison was a good friend of Brad Coady and me.

 

my best friend Johnny Harris, who was a year ahead of me

 

Arthur Contois was a good friend with whom I liked to discuss classical music.

 

I knew Ricky Hagberg and his older sister Karen well.

 

I knew Bob Seavey well. Jim Russell was in all my classes.

 

Shown are my classmates (from Mr. Badoian’s class) Peter McWilliams and Russ Minkwitz; as well as Ricky Hagberg.

 

This a photo of the Mirror staff,  Carlton Sancoucy, who I believe was the editor, is in the front row. I am in the back row, third from left.

 

In the second row are Mrs. Haines, the librarian; and Linda Haines, her daughter and my classmate (in every course). Also my classmate Jean Moore, daughter of the science department chairman. And, in the same row, a popular student and friend of mine, Eiaine Joyce; as well as Arthur Contois. Priscilia Marotta, a good friend of mine and classmate, is in the third row; as well as Carlton Sansoucy.

 

My friend and classmate Carol Soule, who married Russ Minkwitz, is in the first row. Elaine Joyce and Jim Russell are in the second row. And my neighbor and friend Jeff Coady is in the back row (second from right).

 

I had Miss Bertrand for Latin and French.

 

I had Mr. Tedesco two straight years for American and European history. Mr. Bowyer for civics sophomore year

 

 

 

I loved Miss Meade’s typewriting course.

 

 

Roger W. Smith, “tribute to my classmate Russell Minkwitz”

 

My former classmate Russell Minkwitz died on September 15, 2015 at the age of 69.

I have great memories of Russ.

Russ and I attended Canton High School in Canton, Massachusetts. Russ was Co-Captain of the Canton High football team.

He married another classmate of mine, Carol Soule.

An excellent obituary of Russ is online at

http://delaneyfuneral.tributes.com/obituary/show/Russell-E.-Minkwitz-102874459?

The obituary gives the facts of his family, his activities, and his professional accomplishments, all of which are impressive. I would just like to say something briefly about Russ, the person I knew in high school, based on my memories of him.

 

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Russ was in all my classes. He was handsome, a great athlete, and a very good student. He was a true scholar-athlete.

He was a truly nice person. He was soft spoken and modest. He never had a bad word to say about anyone. He was good natured in general and took kidding well.

We used to call him Rusty.

We were in math class together with the legendary teacher Martin J. Badoian. Russ really liked the class and Mr. Badoian. I believe math was his favorite subject. Mr. Badoian, in turn, liked Russ. When he found out that Russ had a girlfriend, he used to kid him about it. Russ, as usual, took the teasing modestly and well.

I was reunited with Russ briefly at our 45th reunion in 2009. He was one of the people I was most glad to see. He looked great then. No doubt no one knew then of his impending illness.

Often at such events, one can be apprehensive about seeing people again after all those years. With Russ, I felt completely at ease right off the bat. I was so glad to see him. He was so friendly, so well spoken. He made it plain that he was glad to see me.

At that time, Russ told me a little about his student days at Penn State, where he played football under Coach Joe Paterno. He said he really regretted quitting football because of an injury. I appreciated Russ’s candor. I could relate to what he said because there are things I regret not having done when I was young, when I had the opportunity.

I sent a letter of condolence to Russ’s wife Carol a few weeks after his death, having learned about it from a former classmate.

Carol Minkwitz responded with a Christmas card to me in which she wrote, “Russ bore his suffering with nobility and never complained.”

I thought to myself, that was Russ.

 

— Roger W. Smith

   January 4, 2016