Dec 12, 2022 – Former Mayor Sheila Russell passed away early this morning at her longtime home on Hawthorn Park in West Cambridge.
RUSSELL, Sheila T. (Doyle) Of Cambridge and Hull, Massachusetts, passed away Monday, December 12th peacefully at home. Wife of the late Mayor Leonard J. Russell; mother of Lenny and his wife Sandy Russell of Hull, Eileen and her husband John Struzziery of Hull, Nancy and her husband Ed Grabowski of Somerville, Katie and her husband Scott Somers of Peabody and predeceased by her son William “Billy” Russell. Loving grandmother of Alyse Brussard and her husband Tom of Boxford, Courtney Hooson and her husband John of Hull, Emily Struzziery of Hull, Caitlin Russell and her fiancé Bobby Murphy of Cambridge, Molly Struzziery of Hull, Meghan Russell of Westport, Patrick and Timmy Grabowski of Somerville and Niamh Walsh and Nolan Somers of Peabody. Great-grandmother of Hazel and Tripp Brussard and Ellie Hooson. Beloved sister of Nancy (Doyle) Navin, the late Marylou (Doyle) Crowley and James “Buddy” Doyle. She also leaves behind many extended family and friends, especially her gang fondly nicknamed “The Murphy Chicks”.
Sheila was fortunate to have been able to raise her five children in Cambridge and Hull, then enjoyed a rewarding career serving on the City Council and then as the Mayor of the City of Cambridge. Sheila touched the lives of so many. She would often talk about her cherished memories and friendships from St. John’s, St. Peter’s, the Hull Yacht Club and the Russell campaign trail. During her tenure as Mayor, Sheila was very proud of bringing the Irish famine monument to the Cambridge Common. As a City Council Woman, Sheila was a champion for many causes, Cambridge businesses and especially for the elderly and for elder services. She was a tireless leader for establishing the Cambridge Citywide Senior Center. In her retirement, her work and dedication were honored in the opening of the Sheila Doyle Russell Community and Youth Center. Although Cambridge was always first in her heart and mind, she enjoyed spending summers at home, entertaining on her front porch and enjoying the beautiful breeze off Hull Bay.
Relatives and friends are invited to Visiting Hours at Saint John’s Church, 2254 Mass Ave. in North Cambridge on Monday, December 19th, from 4-7pm. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in the church on Tuesday, December 20th at 11am. Burial to follow in Cambridge Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The Cambridge Program Friends, for Individuals with Special Needs, 1 Hardwick Street, Cambridge, MA 02141.
Dec 13 – My coffee cup this morning. The passing of a great friend will also be occasion for reunions with other great friends.
A few comments culled from the early issues of the Cambridge Civic Journal:
Nov 1997 – The comic highlight occurred when an Order came up congratulating Councillor Ken Reeves on his upcoming guest appearance in “The Nutcracker” at CRLS. Sheila Russell commented that “I usually do old-fashioned melodramas myself. The last one I was in was ‘The Scheme of the Shiftless Drifter’”. You just gotta love Sheila.
Dec 1997 – This meeting wasn’t exactly one for the ages, but Mayor Sheila Russell showed the good humor that has characterized her term as Mayor. After a discussion about posting “No Dogs Allowed” signs at City tot lots, Sheila said, “All we have to do now is teach the dogs how to read.” Later in the meeting, after a long discussion about whose responsibility it was to clean up the fall leaves after street sweeping was over and whether or not to extend the street cleaning season, Sheila suggested that we should put an Office of Tree Trainer in next year’s budget whose responsibility would be to train trees to drop their leaves directly into the barrels. We don’t yet know who’ll be Mayor this term, but already I’m missing Sheila’s way of keeping everyone at ease.
Jan 1998 – What Makes a Mayor: In my opinion, there are two Councillors who are entirely suitable for the job – Frank Duehay and Sheila Russell. Both have the experience and are moderate enough to be widely acceptable to the public. They are both capable of bringing disparate interests together and of promoting consensus and bipartisanship, ideals that are often elusive in a council elected via proportional representation.
Feb 1998 – Who reads the papers? – The next order of business was a discussion of the costs of legal advertising in local newspapers. The City principally advertises in the Cambridge Chronicle, but deadlines and legal requirements often require that ads go into the Tab, especially those of the Planning Board. The Boston Globe is considerably more expensive. The highlight of the discussion occurred when Counc. Russell asked why we wouldn’t use the Herald since some people never read the Globe. Ken Reeves asserted that some people never read the Chronicle, a clear reference to past differences he’s had with the Chronicle. Councillor Russell responded by saying, “Some people say they never read it but they know every word that was there.” Everyone laughed.
Feb 1998 – Councillor Born and Councillor Russell reminded the Council of how flocks of sheep in roads in Ireland could serve as an effective traffic-calming tool. [Yes, they were joking.]
Mar 1998 – The highlight of this meeting for me was Councillor Sheila Russell’s heartfelt account of the role played by the Marist Fathers and the Holy Union Sisters at Our Lady of Pity Church in North Cambridge, widely know as “The French Church.” She described in wonderful detail growing up in that area and of the good-natured rivalry between children from St. John’s Church and the French Church and of the dedication of the nuns at both churches to serving their community. “That parish was a wonderful, vibrant parish. They did everything for their parishioners. They had plays, they had shows, they had suppers, and they just kept all the traditions alive. So we thank them for what they did for the North Cambridge community and we will miss them.” A short while later, Councillor Russell said “I met my husband at that church. They used to have the University Trio – Nellie, Oscar, and Spike.” It is for moments like this that I continue to go to City Council meetings and to listen to the stories that are told there.
Mar 1998 – Councillor Russell: “That’s why it’s so hard to get people to serve on boards. We hear criticism of the Manager for not making timely appointments to boards. Why should people serve if they’re treated so shabbily?”
Apr 1998 – The comic highlight of the meeting occurred when Councillor Galluccio was needled by fellow councillors about his late entry in the running of the Human Services Road Race the day before. Apparently the good councillor neglected to set his clock forward to daylight saving time and had to be roused out of bed. Councillor Russell and City Mgr. Healy both made reference to the infamous Rosie Ruiz entry in the Boston Marathon. Mayor Duehay said of his vice-mayor, “I depend on you to be there!” Councillor Russell got the biggest laugh when she said, “I was a sleeper in that race.”
Apr 1998 – One of the strangest exchanges occurred during a discussion of Councillor Russell’s Order, responding to a constituent’s call, to refer the issue of “wind chimes” to the Noise Subcommittee of the Environment Committee, chaired by Councillor Born. Councillor Russell facetiously said, “This is a very serious situation. It is the cause of great deliberation and I know I put it in the right hands.” I have come to enjoy the mutual needling of the dynamic duo of Councillors Born and Russell. … Not to be outdone, Councillor Reeves said, “This is one of those moments when I really should just shut up. This worries me. The day will come when someone is wearing a certain shade of yellow and someone else will say ‘That offends me.’ You live in the city. You coexist with a lot of things or you live in the desert and you have no problems….In Somerville, they’re not talking about wind chimes.”
Apr 1998 – A discussion among councillors about the relative merits of supposedly self-cleaning public toilets took place in response to a communication from Central Square Business Association president Carl Barron concerning public urination. Councillors Reeves and Triantafillou heartily recommended these facilities. Councillors Born and Davis expressed some reservations about them. Councillor Russell volunteered to go to Paris on a fact-finding mission.
May 1998 – Councillor Russell provided the biggest smiles of the evening when, in referring to a VFW parking lot on N. Mass. Ave., had some fun by giving as neutral and non-Boston a pronunciation as she could muster to the words “park” and “parking” and then referred to it as a “vehicle storage area”.
June 1998 – The ever-wise Councillor Russell remarked about how most neighborhoods in Cambridge have their share of festivals and other events. “It’s what makes Cambridge Cambridge. It is being a good neighbor to partake in these things and to accept a little extra noise.” Regarding newly arrived residents, she said, “There should be a ‘Ten Commandments’ of how people should be tolerant in Cambridge.”
June 1998 – Councillor Russell: “I feel the same way. I’ve lived in Cambridge my whole life. When I first moved to my neighborhood, on Huron Ave. you could go to a five-and-dime store, a drug store, a barber shop, a hardware store. Now we have art galleries. Councillor Reeves is right. Now we have to put nets around the ball fields so that the ball doesn’t bounce into people’s yards.”
Sept 1998 – Mr. Yoder’s remarks about wildlife in the Alewife area led to various jokes from councillors about geese and goose droppings at the golf course. Councillor Triantafillou noted the increase in the skunk population which caused Councillor Russell to joke that she would put in a Council Order to regulate skunks.
Oct 1998 – With the City Council taking calls that night for input on its goals and objectives, Councillor Russell suggested that they should have a call-in to get Vice Mayor Galluccio a date. He responded by saying, “How many lines do they have up there?” To this, Councillor Russell responded, “One will be enough.”
Oct 1998 – Among other topics that came up was the possibility of requiring pitbulls to be muzzled. (Bill Jones suggested that their owners should be muzzled.) When discussion turned to the subject of people bringing their dogs to the Cambridge Cemetery, Councillor Russell said, “I think this meeting’s going to the dogs!”
May 1999 – The time since the last issue of the CCJ has been a time of great civic angst for this writer. The announcements by Mayor Frank Duehay and Councillor Sheila Russell that they will not be seeking reelection this fall have been very unsettling. These outstanding civil servants have been the most stable influences on the City Council for some time and the prospect of City Hall without them gives me no comfort. We can only hope that the elections this fall lead to future councillors who can match the wit and wisdom of these two individuals.
Mar 1999 – The closing moments of the meeting featured several councillors reciting their favorite “Washington’s Rules of Civility” from a Globe piece distributed by Councillor Davis. Sheila Russell’s choice: “Be not tedious in discourse, make not many digressions, nor repeat often the same manner of discourse.”
May 1999 – When Councillor Born asked if the Cook Petition would preclude garden statuary, Mr. LaTremouille said that it would, because it was taking up space, drawing a parallel with the recent art controversy at Fresh Pond. He said there could be an enormous statue that would take up the whole backyard. Councillor Russell asked if this meant she couldn’t have a statue of the Blessed Mother or some other shrine. Apparently, the petition as written would prohibit this. (This provision was revised the next day to allow shrines.)
May 1999 – During a discussion of the proposed new rules for the City Council meeting, Mayor Duehay quipped, “I think they love us as we are.” To this, Councillor Russell responded, “I take the pulse of the city, and it’s erratic.”
May 1999 – Councillor Galluccio spoke to his order welcoming back the New England Patriots, noting that his mother has been watching the Patriots for 25 years. To this Councillor Russell responded, “I thought she’d made better use of her time.”
May 1999 – The most significant business at this meeting was the passage of the FY2000 budget and the accompanying orders. Of somewhat less significance was Councillor Russell’s order to explore the use of mimes in crosswalks to demonstrate pedestrian safety.
Dec 1999 – Since this was the last meeting for three outgoing city councillors, farewell remarks by Sheila Russell, Frank Duehay, and Katherine Triantafillou were in order. Councillor Russell gave a brief speech and left her magic wand for the next mayor “to use wisely.”
Sheila Russell To Leave City Council Position (Harvard Crimson, May 3, 1999)
Former mayor to retire after 14 years in office
“She has been the glue that holds the council together,” said Preceptor in Mathematics Robert Winters, the publisher of the Cambridge Civic Journal, a monthly political newsletter. “She became one of the binding agents that builds a bridge between the different factions,” he said.
…
Russell was first elected to the council in 1985, when her husband, former Mayor Leonard Russell, died. She served as mayor from 1996 to 1997. An Independent, Russell became known as an advocate for elderly residents as well as for residents of West and North Cambridge, Winters said.