Russell Ham

Russell was born in Marengo, IL on March 18, 1940, and died on October 3, 2019 in an automobile crash in his beloved bright blue Ford truck. After high school he joined the US Army and served in the artillery in Germany. He then received a B.S. in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University where he met his wife, Adrienne, and went on to earn M.A. and PhD degrees from the University of Iowa.

Russell and Adrienne moved to Lake Charles in 1970 where he began his 31-year chemistry teaching career at McNeese State University. He retired as Professor and Department Chairman. While there, he chaired the Discipline Committee for many years and was also Director of the University Accreditation Self Study for the Southern Association of Universities. He also authored a chemistry book for the lay person and conducted geothermal energy studies and research. At McNeese, Russ also served as Director of Institutional Effectiveness, President of the Faculty Senate, and was invited to join teams evaluating other university’s accreditation processes.

After retirement, he joined the Kiwanis Club of Calcasieu where he served as treasurer, was active on the Board of Directors of the Angels of Southwest Louisiana, on the SASOL and Phillips 66 Community Advisory Panels, and on the Lake Charles Fire and Police Civil Service Board until his death.

Russell and Adrienne were dedicated travelers, making their way over the years, to all 50 states (several of them multiple times), and to over 75 countries. Their last trip in the Spring of 2019 was to London for the Chelsea Flower Show and to view castle gardens in the Cotswolds of Southern England. Many of their trips were planned around seeing the animals of the world. Russ especially enjoyed the animals of Africa, the penguins of Antarctica, and the polar bears of Canada.

Russ is survived by his wife of 54 years, Adrienne; brother, Ronald Ham (Arlene) of Marengo, IL; sister, Janice Froning of Exeter, NH; two nieces, Catherine Ham (Joseph) of St. Louis, and Christine Schulman (Jeff) of Marengo, IL; two nephews, Tom Froning (Rebecca) of Madbury, NH, and Mike Froning (Brenda) of East Waterboro, ME; and many good friends.

A private inurnment will take place at a later date in his hometown of Marengo, IL.

For those who wish, memorials may be sent to the National Geographic Society (1145 17^th St NW, Washington, DC 20006), or to the Nature Conservancy (4245 N. Fairfax, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203).