Crest Hill man never outgrew his loved his trains

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Mark Russ, of Crest Hill, Ill., died July 7, 2011. He had a brain tumor. | Submitted photo

Updated: November 30, 2011 12:26AM

With five uncles working for the EJ&E Railway, Mark Russ of Crest Hill had a love of trains in his blood.

It was no surprise that on young Mark’s first visit to Brookfield Zoo, he preferred the train ride to the animals. Second to trains was Mark’s fascination with heavy equipment.

“When we went to Michigan on trips, he would lug those big Tonka trucks into the station wagon so he could play with them in the sand” said Mark’s mother, Janet Russ of Crest Hill.

By adulthood, Mark had collected so many model trains they crowded the clothes right out of his closet. He regularly attended model railroad shows and read collector magazines.

But Mark turned to another love when selecting his college major: sports. He studied broadcast communications at Marquette University in Wisconsin, dreaming of becoming a sportscaster. Russ worked for the Milwaukee Brewers for eight years as a part-time audio and camera engineer.

“He was on the camera when Robin Yount got his 3,000th hit,” Janet said. “ESPN used his shot on TV.”

A baseball strike ended that job, and Mark went to work for his uncle’s contracting business, J. Russ & Co. in Lockport. Although Mark was a quiet man, he enjoyed traveling and eating with friends at local restaurants — until a brain tumor stopped Mark in his tracks.

“Mark lived a very simple life but the brain tumor took that away,” Janet said. “When he lost his vision in one eye, he couldn’t even read anymore.”

That’s where family and friends stepped up. They indulged Mark’s sweet tooth with frequent surprises: French silk pie from Baker’s Square, chocolate chip cookies, lemon meringue pie and chocolate doughnuts.

One of Mark’s uncles removed the rust from a model train set that had been damaged in a flood, so Mark could run the transformers and watch the trains clack down the tracks. Another uncle brought him to witness the demolition of Joliet’s White Store. Mark wistfully expressed, “I wish I could run one of those machines,” Janet said.

Even after two surgeries and radiation therapy, Mark could still list the statistics and players of all the major sports leagues. He was 41 when he died July 7.

Contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at
815-467-5249 or artemis279@aol.com.