By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
CUSTER — He was bigger than life; jovial. A true leader and a devoted educator. He loved to talk education, hunting and fishing. He loved Custer and would do anything for all kids. His leadership style was simple: Hire the best and get out of their way. This was Scott Russell, former superintendent of Mason County Eastern School District and the Mason-Lake Intermediate School District (now part of the West Shore Educational School District).
Scott Jerome Russell, 86, of Custer, passed away on Saturday, February 7, 2026 (read his obituary, published Friday, Feb. 13 on MCP). Russell grew up on the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and was a 1957 graduate of Northport High School. But, his life was here in Mason County.
After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Central Michigan University, he was a student teacher at Ludington High School. In 1961, he was hired as a teacher at Mason County Eastern. In 1963, he married Shirley Beth Rosenow (MCE class of 1960). The couple had two children, Greg and John.
From the time he was hired until 1972, Russell was Eastern’s varsity boys basketball coach. He became MCE senior and junior high schools principal in 1969. By 1975, he was appointed superintendent, a position he held until 1982 when he became the superintendent of the ISD.
At the ISD, Russell oversaw a revolutionary concept, establish a secondary career technical education program in partnership with West Shore Community College. He tapped into talent that was already at the ISD, Jim Pinkerton, to take on the role of taking CTE to the next level.
Pinkerton began his career at the ISD in 1974, after developing vocational programs at Ludington Area School District. His title had been director of vocational education. Russell changed it to assistant superintendent.
“Scott was just a treasure to work with,” Pinkerton said. “He would just let you do what you needed to do as long as it fit into the program. He told me to contact the local secondary superintendents and Dr. Bill Anderson (president of WSCC) and develop the program.”
Anderson said Russell’s experience and dedication to secondary education was unmatched. He also had extensive political clout.
“My background paled in comparison with Scott when it came to secondary education and his ability to rally the citizens and school administrators to make the career tech program happen,” Anderson said.
Russell, Pinkerton and Anderson rallied the public to pass 1 mill to operate the program, which still exists as Summit Career Technical Center.
Putting the right people in the right job was a major strength for Russell.
“His philosophy was hire the very best people that you can and then stay out of their way,” said Jim Rummer, regional director of career and technical education at Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District. “I’ve tried to follow that philosophy as a school administrator. He was so proud of the people he hired. t didn’t matter if the person was the assistant superintendent, a secretary, teacher, or custodian. Scott put together the A Team.”
Rummer is a 1988 graduate of Mason County Eastern whose parents, Karen and Bob Rummer, were best friends with Shirley and Scott Russell. Bob had been one of Russell’s basketball players in the 60s and eventually was hired by Russell at the ISD.
“It sounds so simplistic. But, Scott knew that he wasn’t going to always make decisions that adults agreed with. But, at the end of the day, he would say, don’t worry about adults because we are in the business of doing what’s best for kids.”
Rummer said he would often seek Russells advice on education, fishing and hunting.
“He would say I was one of his boys. He was very proud of the people he mentored over the years.”
Russell’s influence went beyond Mason and Lake counties. He was a well-respected advocate for students and educators in Lansing and started advocacy groups that still exist. His efforts in developing the partnership with WSCC won him praise from Gov. John Engler.
“Scott was always open to talk,” said Ed Miller, retired MCE teacher and now a member of the board of education. “One of my favorite memories of him is that while I was walking by his office he would say, ‘Hey Ed, got a minute?’ Of course, it was never just a minute. He was always helpful and loved to talk. He was just a great educator. We will really miss him.”
Jeanne Oaks was appointed ISD superintendent following Russell’s retirement in 2001, a position she held until 2009. Her late husband, Mike, served a tenure as MCE principal.
“Scott was bigger than life,” Oaks said. “Everybody knew who Scott was. He loved what he did and he was an incredible mentor. He never stopped mentoring. When I became superintendent he was always there. He didn’t tell me what he thought, instead he would listen and then offer options. He just loved what he did and loved to work. But, he also loved Custer. He remained loyal to his roots.”
Current Mason County Eastern Superintendent Paul Shoup, MCE class of 1986, said Russell was a Cardinal until the end and beyond.
“He and Shirley lived down the road and up the hill,” Shoup said, referring to their home on US 10 just west of Custer. “He never left Custer and he kept a pulse on what was going on. He and I would talk a lot, especially when I became superintendent. He would never say, ‘I think you should be doing this or doing that.’ Instead, we would just have deep conversations. Of course, we would always swap some hunting and fishing stories too.”
Shoup said Russell remained involved in MCE and the Custer community. He supported school and recreation programs.
Russell’s devotion to the community will be reflected in the creation of a scholarship in his memory. Shoup said the scholarship will be awarded to an MCE graduate who is going to major in education. Contributions can be sent to MCE, Scott Russell scholarship, 18 S. Main St., Custer, MI 49405.
Just like Rummer and Shoup, Mark Eckhardt was one of Russells “boys.” Eckhardt served as superintendent of MCE from 1988 to 1993 before moving and becoming superintendent of Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District.
“You could write a book on Scott Russell,” Eckhardt said. “I knew Scott even before I was at MCE. He and my dad were really good friends.”
Eckhardt’s dad was a principal and coach at Norman-Dickson School District (now Kaleva-Norman-Dickson). “They became really close and Scott was the person who called me and suggested I apply for the superintendent job at MCE.
“Eastern was a really good experience for me,” Eckhardt said. “Not only were the people and students great but having Scott as a mentor was invaluable.”
Eckhardt said as he transitioned into the ISD role, Scott Russell’s leadership and programming set the gold standard.
“Scott took career technical education to a whole other universe,” Eckhardt said. “He also evolved the intermediate school district philosophy from being a service that provided bookkeeping for local school districts and also serviced special education children to becoming the foundation for uniting districts and creating services that they couldn’t do on their own. He also brought special education into a whole other level, providing those children with a quality education with dignity and respect. That man would just do anything for children — for all children.”
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