Russell Rudolph was born on September 23, 1922 on the Christian Lipskie homestead, on Sideroad 7, in Sullivan Township. His parents, Rudolph and Tina (Lipskie) Golem, mixed farmed and later operated the Peabody General Store. In time, Russell welcomed younger siblings Marion and Ken. He attended school at S.S. #10 Sullivan before returning to the farm to help his dad. In his own words, “farming was my life.”
In addition to helping his parents, Russell also helped his neighbours on their farms, which was coming practice in those days. In his late teens Russell was introduced to one Margaret Wilhelmina Alles at a dance in Elmwood, who was a distant cousin of Marian’s husband, Mel Janke. The young couple went on a couple dates, however Russell was involved with the harvest excursion. It was the early 1940’s and he headed west, to Alberta during the harvest season to work. His pay? $7 per day! This distance did not affect his relationship with Margaret as he wrote to her often. Upon returning home their relationship blossomed and the two were wed on June 5, 1948 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Elmwood.
They soon took up residence on his parent’s former farm, where Russell mixed farmed. He had cattle, pigs, chickens and also separated cream. Their family expanded in 1951 with the arrival of Brenda, then Gerald in 1955 and finally Kevin in 1960. Russell kept busy on the farm and eventually expanded their operation to 300 acres. The kids all had their chores, helping dad and mom in the day-to-day activities on the farm. It was indeed an entire family effort.
When not farming, Russell enjoyed dancing. He and Margaret frequented many of dances over the years, but most Saturday nights in the summer were reserved for the dance in Sauble Beach. He also liked to go Sucker fishing in the spring months, collecting sap for maple syrup and hikes in the great outdoors. The Golem family enjoyed hosting relatives from the KW area and always took the time to visit them in return. When limited to the farm he had an extreme fondness for his animals, tractors (especially his 47′ 9N Ford and Case 300) and who could forget in the early years his team of horses. No Sunday was complete without a trip to his parents at the Peabody Store, to catch up on the local gossip or a picnic lunch and a Sunday afternoon drive.
In 1974, Russell and Margaret sold the farm and began to downsize. They reduced their acreage to 150 and built a new home on Sideroad 8. It was during this time that Russell also began driving school bus, a commitment he held for the next 15 years. On the farm Russel took to raising sheep and stocker calves. He continued to farm in this fashion until he fully retired in 1987.
Russell’s faith was extremely important to him. He was baptized, confirmed (1938) and spent his full 95 years of life attending and supporting St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Sullivan. Over the years he spent time on church council, acted as recording treasurer, secretary and was a member of the cemetery board to name a few. In his younger days he was involved in Luther League and he and Margaret were proud members of the Happy Couples Club. Amazingly, Russell’s great-grandchildren are the 7th generation of Golems to attend St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. What an accomplishment!
In his retirement, Russell still enjoyed taking in farm life and spent countless hours looking out at the land through his patio doors. He also passed the time by watching game shows on TV, along with Westerns, Bonanza, Ed Sullivan and hockey on Saturday nights. No day was complete without getting his hands on the newspaper and catching up on the daily news.
Russell was a gentle, quiet spoken man, who instilled his ethics and values to his family. These traits will live on in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for many years to come.
Sadly, declining health forced Russell to move into Brucelea Haven in January of 2017. Here he lived out his remaining days with the love and support of his family. He passed away on Monday, May 28, 2018 at the age of 95.
Beloved husband of Margaret. Cherished father of Brenda Nicholson (Dave Black) of R.R. #2 Tara, Gerald of R.R. #4 Chesley and Kevin (Patti) of Lake Rosalind. Russell will be sadly missed by his grandchildren Grant, Scott (Amy), Jennifer, Trevor (Julia), Jessie and Emily, great-grandchildren Anna, William, Dominie and his sister-in-law Anne Golem. He was predeceased by his daughter-in-law Mary Golem, son-in-law Bob Nicholson, sister Marion (Mel) Janke, brother Ken Golem, brothers-in-law Melvin (Wanda) Alles, Eldon (Annie) Alles and his parents Rudolph and Tina (Lipskie) Golem.
The family will receive friends at Rhody Family Funeral Home, Chesley on Thursday evening from 7 – 9 p.m. A funeral service will be held at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Sullivan (#682006 Concession 8 – two miles south of Desboro) on Friday, June 1, 2018 at 2 p.m. Interment in St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery, Sullivan.
Memorial donations to the Building Fund of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church or Owen Sound Regional Hospital Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
