BRIDGTON – Russell T. “Russ” Tornrose, Teacher, Principal and Educator, of Bethel died, at age 80, on Jan. 21, 2021 at Bella Point Nursing Home in Bridgton. The cause of Russ’s death was complications from dementia, from which he had suffered during his later years. Russ was known in several communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts as a respected teacher and school principal.Russ was born in New York City to William and Marie Tornrose on May 11, 1940. The majority of his development years were in Salisbury, Mass. He was a 1958 graduate of Governor Dummer Academy (now Governors Academy) in South Byfield, Mass. His career there was marked by both academic and athletic success. He captained both Football, and Track, in which he held school records. He graduated with honors as a member of the Cum Laude Society. At graduation, Russ was awarded the Morse Flag, the Academy’s highest honor, given to the one senior who excelled most widely.After graduation Russ entered as a freshman at Princeton University in the fall of 1958. Russ continued with athletics at Princeton where he played tackle on the varsity football team, and threw both the shotput and the discus on the track team. Russ was a member of Tiger Inn. He graduated in the class of ‘65. Russ was married before his senior year to Carol Keeney, of Short Hills, N.J. They lived off campus during Russ’s senior year at Princeton, in nearby Hightstown, N.J. Carol and Russ embarked on the adventure of a lifetime after graduation when Russ was offered a position teaching in the American School in Karachi, Pakistan. Carol was employed at the school as well. On occasion, Russ was invited to practice and compete with the Pakistani national track team, where he broke the national record in the discus, and held the record for several years thereafter. At the conclusion of their years in Pakistan, Russ and Carol undertook a wide ranging trip of several months through central Asia, India and Europe, exploring widely at a time when travel in Asian frontier regions was accessible.On return to the United States, Russ and Carol located in Exeter, N.H., where Russ became a teacher and coach at the Emerson School, a private school in Exeter. Tragically, the school was the site of Carol’s sudden death from an aneurism. Recovery from her death was extremely difficult for Russ, a very private individual. Embarking on a new life, Russ began what would become his career as a teacher and coach in public school systems in Maine and Massachusetts. Public school education became a passion of Russ’s, one in which he was honored by many of his peers, and in the towns that he served.In every place that he taught, and there were many, Russ was revered both as a teacher, and later as a principal, and became, always, extremely popular, both among faculty and students, as well. Teaching was much more than a career for Russ; it was a deep passion. He had strong views on education and how it should serve. As a friend and teaching colleague said of him, “his teaching sojourn took place in an incredible array of high-achieving schools. What set him apart? Russ was a revered leader with a passion for the classroom and an inexhaustible intellectual drive to understand teaching. He helped transform Wayland Junior High and many other schools in his career.” During that long career, Russ intentionally served as both teacher and principal. As another friend and colleague said of him, “Russ believed that to be an effective principal you needed to periodically get back into the classroom as a teacher – that was how he always explained his journey in education and his zig-zagging career.” Russ also pursued his interest in education academically, garnering a Master’s degree at University of New Hampshire, and in his later years completed the course work for his Doctorate, although health issues prevented the completion of his dissertation.Russ completed his full time public high school education career as the principal at Noble High School a new high school in Maine, where he helped to shepherd the design and construction of this large new school. The school won a number of architectural awards, and became known throughout the state of Maine. After retirement, Russ returned to living in Maine, near Portland.But education called again. At the request of the school superintendent, Russ returned to a Principal’s role in Andover, Maine, not far from where he eventually moved, in the town of Bethel. After his “second “retirement, Russ continued to teach in Community College, a new field for him, where he discovered his own budding talents in that environment too. Russ was clearly born to teach, and to excel at it.After settling in Bethel, Russ became active again in the Episcopal Church at Christ Church in nearby Norway, Maine. He was active there, serving on the vestry and ultimately as the Senior Warden of the parish. Russell will be buried in Exeter, N.H., where both Marie Tornrose, his mother, and Carol Tornrose, wife of his early years, rest.He is survived by his sister Carole of Fort Worth, Texas; and by a number of nieces and nephews in Texas, Virginia and California. His family and his many friends will miss his lively intellect, charming sense of humor, wide ranging knowledge about so many things, and his warm and generous presence.Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 45 Main Street, South Paris. Online condolences may be shared with his family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com


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