Our Old Toymaker Goes to Meet His Maker

By Carol Mell, 9-21-07

Russell Whiteman was 94 when he died on September 1, 2007. He was a toymaker, sage bundler, farmer, accountant, Arabian Horse breeder, grandfather and father to all in our congregation at Taos Presbyterian Church.

I wrote about this remarkable man last November for this page. Click here to read the story.

We had a service for him that was all the more touching because he chose the scripture and the hymns. Russell wanted to sing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and “Morning Has Broken,” an old Gaelic hymn that Cat Stevens made famous years ago. That was Russell, hip to the end.

A few years back Russell had a cancerous kidney removed. He’d recovered nicely but told me, “If I ever get cancer again I’m going to meet my maker.” That’s what he did.