Russell St. John

Granby — Russell George St. John, beloved husband of Anne (Camp) St. John, passed away on June 17, 2017. He had lived in Granby since 1960.

He was born in Hartford to the late Russell G. St. John and Isabel (Magee) St. John on Sept. 14, 1928. After graduating from Weaver High School in 1947, he joined the Connecticut National Guard and was called to serve in Germany as part of NATO. He reached the rank of staff sergeant in the 169th Regiment, 43rd Division. He was proud of his service and continued to serve as an active member of Shannon-Shattuck Post 182, American Legion in Granby.

After his service, he earned a bachelor of science degree in business from UConn while working for Silliter-Holden in West Hartford. He was also employed at Peter L. Brown in East Granby. He returned to his passion — trains — when he joined the Connecticut Central Railroad in Middletown. He actively grew the freight business in Central Connecticut, becoming president of the railroad. The Connecticut Central Railroad was bought by Providence and Worcester, and Russ continued to work for P&W until his retirement in 2016.

Russ was devoted to the Town of Granby. He was a member of the Granby Jaycees and was active in preparing the way for a new Town Hall. He was a member of many town boards, but he most enjoyed Planning and Zoning, and helped to develop a plan of growth for Granby. Due to his love of trains and transportation, he was appointed to the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission and the Greater Hartford Transit District Commission.

Russ never forgot the City of Hartford where he grew up. He was an active volunteer with Rebuilding Together Hartford and passed that commitment on to his children and grandchildren. He was proud that this year, Rebuilding Together Hartford worked on his childhood home.

Russ loved the outdoors including hunting, fishing, gardening, skiing, and playing golf. He hunted and fished on his land in North Granby and on many wonderful trips to Canada, Alaska and the West with his son, Peter.

Russ leaves his beloved wife, Anne, to whom he was married for 57 years, and his three children, Peter H. St. John and his partner, Elaine Goudreau, of Stonington, Tracey R. Bissell and her husband, Tom, of West Hartford, and Elizabeth Sanford and her husband, Edmund, of Farmington, along with his exchange student daughter, Connie Concetto and her husband, Dante, of Scottsdale, Ariz. He also leaves three special grandchildren, Ericsson R. Bissell, William S. Sanford and Elizabeth “Libby” C. Sanford. He was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Audrey Weaver.

The family deeply appreciates the compassionate care given by Cherrybrook in Canton and McLean Hospice in his last months.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, at Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 59 Tariffville Road, Bloomfield. Burial in Old St. Andrew’s Cemetery, Bloomfield, will be private and at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Russ’ name to McLean Development, Attn: Hospice, 75 Great Pond Road, Simsbury, CT 06070, Rebuilding Together Hartford Inc., P.O. Box 230295, Hartford, CT 06123-0295 or to Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 59 Tariffville Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002.

Hayes-Huling & Carmon Funeral Home in Granby has care of the arrangements. For online condolences please visit, www.carmonfuneralhome.com.