This Thursday, hundreds of thousands will sit down with their families, sharing blessings of thanks and feelings of appreciation. Unfortunately, however, there will be one empty seat around one particular table — one left vacant just about a year ago.
Coastal Point • RUSLANA LAMBERT
The late Russell Shockley left an impressive amount of money to the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia and the Roxana Volunteer Fire Company. On Tuesday, Nov. 20, attorney Stephen A. Parsons distributed the checks in his Ocean View office. Pictured, from l
Those who knew Russell Shockley and understood his character and the life he lived can appreciate everything he honored. Now, thanks to his giving and his generosity, thousands upon thousands more will get the chance to share holidays with the ones they love.
Shockley was born with congenital deformity in both upper extremities, with severe limitations of his movement. The son of the late George and Mabel Shockley of Bayard, he spent much time in surgery and rehabilitation at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.
His unfortunate condition plagued everyday tasks that most take for granted. Changing clothes, brushing teeth, flipping through a magazine or this very newspaper — things most hardly think twice about — were constant struggles for Shockley each morning he awoke. Moving around was no simple feat, either.
A graduate of Lord Baltimore High School, Shockley later went on to work for Cargill/Mountaire as a weigh-master, a job he did for years. He also donated hours upon hours of his time at the Roxana Volunteer Fire Hall, assisting with functions and events, including their annual fried chicken dinner, and even holding the position of secretary and treasurer for the fire company.
And, after a life of struggle and giving, Shockley died.
Recently, attorney Stephen Parsons came across an astonishing discovery as acting executor for Shockley’s wishes in his will. Monetary donations, totaling $300,000, were left for Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia and the Roxana Volunteer Fire Company, two organizations that had seen him through some of his worst of times and his best.
Shockley requested that $150,000 be paid to each, and also that his body be donated to the Anatomy Gifts Registry of Hanover, Md., for medical and science education and research, so that perhaps someone else might someday be blessed with the opportunity of another chance at life.
Even more impressive than the donations he made, to many, was his outlook on life. Those closest to Russell Shockley recall the man’s persona, attitude and good-natured reflection on living in a way most others would never understand.
“No words can express the type of person he was,” said sister Marion Toomey. “He had a beautiful outlook on things in this world, and he would do anything to help others.”
Russell Shockley spent much time volunteering at Shriners Hospital, assisting other patients as well as a nearby rehabilitation center. “He always enjoyed making other people smile,” she said.
“In his opinion, he was not disabled or handicapped,” said Bessie Shockley, who met Russell when he was 18, and married his late brother, Calvin, in 1955. “If Russell ever was faced with a task that was difficult for him, he always found a way around it.”
Though married to his brother, Bessie Shockley herself developed an immediate connection with Russell. “I never really thought of him as an in-law,” she said. “He was much more like a regular brother to me.”
“He had his weakness,” said Toomey, “but up until the last few months of his life, he really showed something that I never knew he had.”
Volunteers at the fire station grew to admire Shockley’s friendly habits, as well.
“He was always a giving person,” recalled Roxana Fire Chief Todd Marvel. “He wanted to do anything he could all of the time, and if I had something for him to do, he’d go right ahead and do it, no questions asked.”
Never one to complain, Russell Shockley had a habit of making friends with whoever he met. “He never had anything bad to say about anyone,” Bessie Shockley added. “He always found the best in people, and always made time for everyone.”
Most of his acquaintances describe him as independent and stubborn. Marvel recalled an incident when Shockley had asked for help inserting eye drops. “He came up to me,” Marvel said, “and you could see it in his face. It was killing him just to ask for my help. He tried so hard to do everything himself.”
Long-time friend and fellow volunteer at the Roxana Fire Hall Gerald Pepper knew Shockley well.
“He really was a great man and the nicest person ever,” Pepper said. “He’d take a drink by biting the cup in his mouth and tilting his head back. He didn’t want to ask anyone for assistance.”
Pepper even helped implement the installation of a couple of handicapped parking spaces at the station. “Russell would come in and park a few spaces down from them, though,” Pepper said. “I told them that he could park closer, in the handicapped spots, but he’d insist they weren’t for him – that he didn’t need them.”
“I don’t know who those are for, but they’re not for me,” he would tell Pepper.
“People would look at him and think he was handicapped and was limited in what he could do,” said Bessie Shockley, “but he was very talented, and there were even things that he could do that others couldn’t.”
Russell Shockley had a keen knowledge of electronics and often spent time repairing and building radios, stereos and other electronic equipment.
Many credited Shockley as a man of wisdom, too. “Whenever I needed advice,” Bessie Shockley said, “he’d ponder what I asked, but he always had the perfect thing to say, and everything would turn out right.”
Russell Shockley possessed a great deal of modesty, too. “He never wanted people feeling sorry for him,” said Bessie Shockley, “and he wouldn’t have wanted any attention for the donations he made.”
She hopes that people will recognize his generosity, though, so that someday, someone else can make an equally powerful difference in the lives of others. “He’s done a lot for the community, and I know there are other people out there who want to do something like this,” she said.
Checks for the two monetary donations were presented to Shriners Hospital for Children and the Roxana Fire Department on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
More than an electrician, a weigh-master, a volunteer, a friend, Shockley was and always will be an inspiration to those who know his story. His monetary contributions, as well as his donation of life for another struggling person, gives the assurance that no matter what the circumstances of one’s life, there is always something for which one can be thankful.