I lost my buddy Russell today

[CouElk]

So sorry for your loss Turpentine!

 

[Panthers59]

My condolences, and Prayers for you and his family, and may he rest in peace.

 

[436]

Guys most of you know that my buddy Russell has been having a rough time. He passed away this morning. He's not suffering anymore. It's been a tough day, but I know he's in a better place. I hope that his family can find peace and understanding during this tough time. They knew it was coming. But that doesn't make it any easier. It's comforting to me to know I was with him the last time he dove hunted. We sat together in the field all afternoon. I was also with him during his last duck hunt. He could barely talk because of the effects of the radiation. I was running the duck call and called the shot when he killed his last duck. You don't forget things like that. Thank you all for your prayers and kind words over the recent weeks. I appreciate it and his family does as well.

I know how that feels... Sorry for your loss, they (good friends) are hard to come over our lifespan

 

[Turpentine21]

It is extremely rare that we get snow here but we did our little tribute hunt in the snow and ice. We did well on the ducks. The graveside funeral was in snow and ice and I'll never forget it. It was 17 degrees here the next morning and I did a solo tribute. Just me and the dog. Ducks worked very well and I limited out. I could almost feel Russell there. As he is the only one other than me that's crazy enough to hunt regardless of conditions. A lot of the new era duck commander types just don't have enough grit. Coming out of the swamp I could tell my boat wasn't handling right. It was heavy in the rear end. Long story short I slid it up on a small log I couldn't see and instead of veering off the log the front rose up and the transom went under before I could even switch the motor off. I grabbed a tree limb and pulled myself onto the bank. Wet, a bit chilly. I just sat there in the snow and laughed while the dog had this puzzled look on her face.
The first duck hunt I ever went on with Russell he had borrowed his friends Carolina boat with a 40 Mariner. The Carolina boat is a wood boat that has been very popular over the years. My uncle Bill was there too. We exited the ditch into the lake and didn't go 100 yards before we hit a stump dead center in the bow. You could palm a basketball through the hole. We didn't even get backed off the stump good before the boat sunk. I was 12 and only had hip boots so one of them carried me to a stump just barely sticking out of the water. Water would splash up on me and freeze. Yep I got frozen to the stump. We eventually made it home. Somehow momma found out and told me I wasn't allowed to go hunting with those two anymore. But I did. And she never knew any different.
I figured out I sunk because snow and ice had added more weight than I thought to the back of the boat. I just didn't bump anything on the way in to hunt. Just on the trip out, go figure. I called a couple of friends and we towed my boat onto a sandbar, pumped her out, and pulled her home. I had my 50 Yamaha back running and ready to go again in about 2 hours. What a way to break in my freshly rebuilt engine. I just finished building it 2 weeks ago. I hunted out of it again the next morning but I had to thaw the tiller linkages out with the Qbeam before I left the hill. Russell would have been proud.

 

[74honker]

It is extremely rare that we get snow here but we did our little tribute hunt in the snow and ice. We did well on the ducks. The graveside funeral was in snow and ice and I'll never forget it. It was 17 degrees here the next morning and I did a solo tribute. Just me and the dog. Ducks worked very well and I limited out. I could almost feel Russell there. As he is the only one other than me that's crazy enough to hunt regardless of conditions. A lot of the new era duck commander types just don't have enough grit. Coming out of the swamp I could tell my boat wasn't handling right. It was heavy in the rear end. Long story short I slid it up on a small log I couldn't see and instead of veering off the log the front rose up and the transom went under before I could even switch the motor off. I grabbed a tree limb and pulled myself onto the bank. Wet, a bit chilly. I just sat there in the snow and laughed while the dog had this puzzled look on her face.
The first duck hunt I ever went on with Russell he had borrowed his friends Carolina boat with a 40 Mariner. The Carolina boat is a wood boat that has been very popular over the years. My uncle Bill was there too. We exited the ditch into the lake and didn't go 100 yards before we hit a stump dead center in the bow. You could palm a basketball through the hole. We didn't even get backed off the stump good before the boat sunk. I was 12 and only had hip boots so one of them carried me to a stump just barely sticking out of the water. Water would splash up on me and freeze. Yep I got frozen to the stump. We eventually made it home. Somehow momma found out and told me I wasn't allowed to go hunting with those two anymore. But I did. And she never knew any different.
I figured out I sunk because snow and ice had added more weight than I thought to the back of the boat. I just didn't bump anything on the way in to hunt. Just on the trip out, go figure. I called a couple of friends and we towed my boat onto a sandbar, pumped her out, and pulled her home. I had my 50 Yamaha back running and ready to go again in about 2 hours. What a way to break in my freshly rebuilt engine. I just finished building it 2 weeks ago. I hunted out of it again the next morning but I had to thaw the tiller linkages out with the Qbeam before I left the hill. Russell would have been proud.

PERFECT!

 

[Northkill]

Guys most of you know that my buddy Russell has been having a rough time. He passed away this morning. He's not suffering anymore. It's been a tough day, but I know he's in a better place. I hope that his family can find peace and understanding during this tough time. They knew it was coming. But that doesn't make it any easier. It's comforting to me to know I was with him the last time he dove hunted. We sat together in the field all afternoon. I was also with him during his last duck hunt. He could barely talk because of the effects of the radiation. I was running the duck call and called the shot when he killed his last duck. You don't forget things like that. Thank you all for your prayers and kind words over the recent weeks. I appreciate it and his family does as well.

Thank-you for sharing your loss with us. We pray you'll know how to support the family and find some light for yourself midst the pain of the loss. Good people hurt us the most when they leave. Guess the best we can do is honor their life by living out their goodness in our remaining days. God bless you all.