Russell John Ziegler

Russell John Ziegler passed away peacefully on March 9, 2025 in Raleigh, NC, shortly after his 93rd birthday, which he celebrated with four generations of the family he adored. Born in Utica, Michigan to John Ziegler and Kathleen Lamb Ziegler, Russ was the 4th of 5 brothers—Edwin, Raymond, Donald, and Harry—all of whom have predeceased him. When Russ was just 9, his father passed away, leaving his mother to raise five active boys on her own. The Ziegler brothers quickly learned to pitch-in with paper routes and all the odd jobs they could manage, creating a bond of family loyalty and a commitment to hard work that would define Russ for the next eight decades. Despite what many would consider extreme hardship, the Ziegler childhood home was filled with friends and laughter. Russ and his brothers had a deep love for their mother and for the faith she instilled in them. Russ graduated as class president from St. Leo High School in Detroit and received a BS from the University of Detroit School of Commerce and Finance. It was at St. Leo where he first met Eleanor Mitchell, a transfer student who put the nuns through their paces. In 1954, Russ married Eleanor at St. Mary of Redford Catholic Church, embarking on a 70-year adventure together. They had four children in six years and their long marriage was filled with faith, commitment and mutual respect. Though family life revolved around the demands and activities of 4 active children, Russ was home from work every day at 5:15 for family dinner at 5:30. Russ wanted to share his love of sports with his children and there were many trips to see the Detroit Tigers, Lions and Red Wings play games, as well as boating adventures, fishing trips (which rarely resulted in fish), snowmobile excursions and family camping in a pop-up trailer. Though Russ loved his home state of Michigan, he wanted to show his children the world, and the Ziegler family vacation road trips were legendary, with Russ behind the wheel for thousands of miles, with strict rules around limited bathroom breaks. He delighted in his children’s accomplishments and never missed an opportunity to boast about his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Russ began his professional journey with Michigan Bell Telephone Company in 1956, where he found a "charmed experience" that kept him engaged for 39 years across various roles, eventually finishing his career with AT&T, where he provided business support to AT&T's legal team during the company's famous antitrust case and the eventual break-up of the Bell system. In a feat that mystified, but didn’t surprise, his children and grandchildren, he proudly reported missing only three days of work in nearly four decades. The AT&T years took Russ and Eleanor to Orlando, Florida, and later to Morristown, New Jersey, but Florida's sunshine called them back for retirement. They seized their golden years with characteristic enthusiasm, traveling to 25 countries and exploring every inch of the United States. They ventured to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, China and deep into rural Mexico. No matter how far he roamed, though, Russ never shed his Michigan driving habits. When asked by one of his children to slow down on the highway, he would innocently explain that he was "just keeping up with traffic.” Russ was the family's fix-it man extraordinaire. No air filter went unchanged, no leaky faucet continued dripping, and no sticky door remained jammed once Russ had been alerted to the situation. Even well into his 80s, he insisted on climbing ladders and crawling under sinks. In a world of drama, Russ was steadfastly stoic. After completing a morning round of chemotherapy several years ago, he spent the afternoon weeding his garden, refusing to let illness dictate his schedule. He is survived by his wife Eleanor, their 4 children and spouses, Laura (Bob), David (Carol), Diane (Patrick) and Robert (Helen),15 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom he taught to play pinochle. At his family’s urging, Russ completed work on his personal autobiography last year. He ended his own story with this quote by Helen Lowrie Marshall Afterglow: 'I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways. Of happy times and laughing times and bright sunny days. I’d like the tears of those who grieve to dry before the sun. Of happy memories that I leave when life is done." In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for charitable donation to Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina https://secure.foodbankcenc.org/site/Donation2?df_id=10523&mfc_pref=T&10523.donation=form1&chosen=60&s_src=footer&s_subsrc=website

Russell John Ziegler

February 24, 1932 - March 9, 2025