September 16, 1925 - February 28, 2019 at Orillia Ontario.
Survived by his wife, Catharine (Nee Falls of Windsor, Ontario), daughter Ellen of Dundas Ontario and sister Dorothy Armbrust of St. Catharines.
Rusty practiced law at Russell Christie LLP until he took “early retirement” at the age of 89. He authored the legal manual “Russell on Roads, and was a frequent lecturer on municipal law across the province. In 2005 he was the first recipient of the Award of Excellence in Municipal Law, and was an honorary life member of the Ontario Good Roads Association and the Rural Ontario Municipal Association.
Born in Russell Manitoba, he grew up in Gravenhurst and Orillia. On discharge from the air force at the end of WWII, he was persuaded (at a pool parlour) to attend Rehab School in Toronto and gained entrance to the University of Toronto. After his B.A., he received his law degree in 1953 from Osgoode Hall (Queen Street), and married in 1956.
He was a lawyer for several aviation companies in Toronto, and on February 20, 1959 he was taking the minutes of the directors meeting at Canadian Applied Research when Prime Minster Diefenbaker phoned to cancel the Avro Arrow project.
In 1960 he moved to Orillia to found the law firm now known as Russell Christie LLP. His membership in the Orillia Rotary Club and the YMCA extended over 50 years, and he was a committed water skier and aviation enthusiast.
Visitation will be held at the Mundell Funeral Home Tuesday from 2-3:30 and 7-8:30. Funeral Service will be held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian ChurchWednesday March 6 at 2 PM. Donations to OSMH Foundation.
Rusty would want you to keep your stick on the ice.