Russell L. Martin, age 80, of Kentwood, MI, passed away on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.  Russell was born on October 18, 1943, to Herbert Byron and Geraldine (DeVries) Martin.  He graduated from Ottawa Hills High School in 1961.  He attended Grand Rapids Junior College and graduated in 1963.  Russell then went on to Western Michigan University and graduated in 1965, where he received Masters in English Education.  Russell also took post graduate credits from Hawaii Pacific, BYU-Hawaii Campus, and the University of Hawaii.  He married Barbara Tiedeman in 1965, and divorced in 1975.  He taught at Grand Rapids South High School for 3 years starting in 1965.  In 1968, he taught at Ottawa Hills High School for 1 year and taught one semester at Grand Rapids Junior College during that time.  Russell’s teaching career then took him to Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1968 – 1997, where he also worked in the school's boarding program.  All teaching positions were in English courses, grades 8 - 12, mostly 10th grade English.  A highlight of his career was getting to teach Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for many years.  Russell retired in 1997 to return to Michigan and was a caregiver for his mom, who was suffering from Parkinson's.  Mother and son agreed on the importance of education and decided to put their estates into trusts, financing scholarships.