Mr. Russell J. Heyde, Jr.

With grief in our hearts we announce the passing of our loving grandfather, father, and husband, Russell J. Heyde. We know that he is now at peace after an admirable life of service in so many capacities and that his long and courageous battle with ill health is now over. Russell James Heyde, Jr. was born on August 22, 1937 in Monroe, Wisconsin to the late Edna Nicollier Heyde and Russell J. Heyde, Sr. He was the grandson of Swiss immigrants Marguerite Reuf Nicollier and Eduard Camille Nicollier who settled in Green County, Wisconsin and built a farm and thriving business in the town of Darlington. Russell spent his early years traveling to Wisconsin by train for school holidays and summer vacations and helping his grandparents with the farm. The son of federal government workers, he attended schools in Prince Georges County and in the Dallas, TX area and graduated from Suitland High School in 1955. His love for the outdoors began during his childhood in Suitland, where he loved exploring the surrounding woods and playing in the stream, looking for newts and salamanders. He collected leaves, insects, and interesting rocks and acorns and made collections. He learned to play the trumpet in middle school, and this led to his passion for jazz of the 50’s and 60’s. Growing up he was a Boy Scout and earned 51 merit badges, ultimately attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, an honor which later his three grandsons also earned. After his high school graduation, he enrolled in the education program at what was then Frostburg State Teachers College and worked during the summers for the GSA in Washington, D.C. as an elevator mechanic’s helper in many of the major government buildings. The skills he learned would later serve him well as he applied them to electrical wiring , carpentry, and building design.

He had a flair for the dramatic and during both his high school and college years, he was actively involved in radio broadcast and drama groups and class plays. He was a proud member of the tennis team at Frostburg and belonged to the Sigma Phi Chapter of Delta Kappa National Fraternity, Inc. Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree at Frostburg in 1959, he began his teaching career in Garrett County, MD before moving to Frederick County, where he taught science and biology at Walkersville Junior and Senior High School, and in the Outdoor School in Washington County. As a classroom teacher he was awarded several grants by the National Science Foundation, which gave him the opportunity during the summer breaks from teaching to study at universities across the country including Rutgers, Michigan State University, Iowa State, San Diego State University, and the College of William and Mary. Enrolling in the master’s degree program at the University of Maryland at College Park in 1961, he became involved in research in biology and in planetarium programs and upon completion of his M.S. Degree in 1965 he took a position in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, where he served as a planetarium director for the school system. Moving back to Maryland a few years later, he was appointed to the position of generalist instructional supervisor at Southern Middle School in Anne Arundel County before being elevated to the position of Coordinator of Outdoor Education for the Anne Arundel County Public School System, a position that he held for the next 28 years. It was there that he developed the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education program from what had once been a simple church camp on the shores of the Severn River into a national award-winning program that served thousands of students, teachers, and parents during his 28-year tenure there.

A frequently sought-after speaker at state and national conferences, he was a tireless outdoor education advocate and presented papers at conferences and meetings on planetarium education, conservation education, environmental studies, ecology, outdoor classrooms, and teacher-driven utilization of outdoor education centers to integrate the outdoors into their classroom curriculum and instruction. He served as a mentor to several young people whom he employed at Arlington Echo, teaching them the ways of outdoor education, and helping them to serve as good stewards of the environment. He developed a highly popular Summer Camp program for Anne Arundel County students at the Arlington Echo site and later expanded the program to incorporate overnight experiences for early childhood students at Camp Woodlands and to the West River site. He also wrote many competitive grants for teacher training and for the acquisition and utilization of a research vessel for Chesapeake Bay ecology studies along the Severn River and developed a Drownproofing Program that still serves fourth-grade students in the many elementary schools in Anne Arundel County. He also taught graduate courses in environmental education in the MAT program at the University of Maryland College Park for several years.

Russell was a man of immense frugality, an adventurer, a tennis ace, a skier, and a boater. He enjoyed living and working along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. He loved designing, building, and over the years landscaping his three homes, in Walkersville, Riviera Beach, and Severna Park. He fulfilled his longtime dream of designing and building a passive solar contemporary home on Cattail Creek in Severna Park, where he and his wife, Theresa, lived for 34 years. He loved hosting family gatherings there and taking friends and family out on the Bay in his boat. 

Mr. Heyde served as a member of the Maryland Conservation Education Council and as a founding member of MAEOE, the Maryland Association for Outdoor and Environmental Education. In the 1980s he was appointed by then Anne Arundel County Executive Robert A. Pascal as chairman of the county’s new Energy Conservation Commission which was charged with formulating wide-ranging energy education programs to present to community, civic, and improvement associations as well as to individuals and government agencies. He served as the vice chairman of the Maryland Conservation Education Council. He was also appointed by former Governor Parris Glendenning to serve on the Maryland State Forestry Conservation Board and the Anne Arundel County Forest Conservancy Board. 

An avid tennis player for over 55 years, beginning in college, Russell was forced to hang up his racquet in 2012, after many years of playing competitively in several leagues, when his back and legs finally gave out. After his retirement in 2000, Russell enjoyed indulging in his passions for gardening, boating on the Chesapeake Bay, and world travel. He and his wife visited 49 of the 50 states, many provinces in Canada, and over 80 countries on six continents. His childhood dreams of seeing the great pyramids of Egypt, walking on the Great Wall of China, cruising on the Amazon River, and seeing Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal, the terracotta warriors, Petra in Jordan, the Panama Canal, and Angkor Wat were all realized as he and his wife took to the road. His adventure travel experiences included white-water rafting and survival training on the Snake River, hiking in Bryce Canyon, fishing for piranha on the Amazon River, walking through a lava tube in Hawaii, swimming with the dolphins in the Bahamas, ziplining through the cloud forest in Costa Rica, and diving in the crystal blue waters of French Polynesia. He also enjoyed landscaping and gardening, going to concerts and the theater, and listening to music of the 50’s, 60’s and the 70’s, especially jazz. He was an avid fan of University of Maryland athletics and enjoyed watching sports, particularly the former Washington Redskins, the Baltimore Ravens and the Maryland men’s and women’s basketball and lacrosse teams. He and his wife moved to their retirement home in New Market, MD in 2015 to be closer to their family. He was immensely proud of the accomplishments of his daughters and grandsons and was especially pleased with the birth of his great-granddaughter Stella Marie. 

In his later years as illness laid him low and his health began to fail, his courage and strength in fighting off cancer, heart surgery and numerous other operations, and a deadly infection that he contracted in Brazil, was legendary. He was a true warrior, facing each challenge with every ounce of courage and determination every day. He was stubborn, feisty, a born adventurer, and lived his life with gusto until the end.

Russell was predeceased by his parents; and his three brothers, John, Thomas, and William Heyde. He is survived by his wife, of 38 years, Dr. Theresa M. Flak; his daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Kristine Heyde Pearl and George Pearl of Walkersville, MD; his daughter and son-in-law, Kendra Heyde, CPA, and John Krucenski of Baltimore, MD; his grandson and granddaughter-in-law, Dr. Kevin Pearl and Kelly Brasseau of Easton, MD; his grandsons, Ryan Pearl and his wife, Jessica Sardella and great-granddaughter, Stella Pearl of Mt. Airy, and Charles Pearl of Frederick, MD. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. 

There will be no viewing or service at this time. Arrangements have been entrusted to Stauffer Funeral Home and Stauffer Crematory, Inc.