Dorothy Etta White

1900 - 2006  (105 years)

• Name	Dorothy Etta White
  Born	26 Apr 1900	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Female
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195155700
  Name	Dorothy Etta Russell
  Residence	1911	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	United Bretheran
  Occupation	1924	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	teacher
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-39005
  Died	18 Jan 2006	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I39005	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Ward Malott White,   b. 1870, Leamington, Mersea Twp., Essex Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1 May 1948, Chilliwack, , British Columbia, Canada  (Age 78 years)
  Mother	Lydia Mary Etta "Etta" Schantz,   b. 9 Oct 1866, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 5 May 1900, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 33 years)
  Married	1 Sep 1898	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4, 5]
  Family ID	F6224	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Flemming Clarke "Clarke" Russell,   b. 9 Mar 1903, Palmyra, Kent Co., Ontario ,   d. 18 Mar 1954, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 51 years)
  Married	2 Jul 1924	Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Children	1. Harold Clarke Franklin Russell
  Last Modified	12 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F52818	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Orpheus M Schantz was the first born of Tobias & Mary Schantz, he left Conestogo to live with Mary's brother in Iowa in 1881. He was a regular visiter to his family home on Schneider Avenue in Berlin/Kitchener. An artist & expert naturalist, he often recorded events on bracket fungi he collected on woodland walks. Orpheus etched a snowy scene with evergreen trees. He wrote on the margin, "January 1, 1922, First visit by Orpheus in winter since leaving home October 1881." He included the family names including his great niece Dorothy. This curio and several similar decorated fungi were stored in the attic of the Schantz/Russell home until the last decade when it was donated to the Waterloo Region Museum. In 1900 Etta Schantz, now Etta White, her husband Ward and two Schantz brothers decided to homestead near Didsbury Alberta. Etta came to Berlin to have her baby, Dorothy, but she died of complications. Dorothy White was brought up by her extended Schantz family, principally her Uncle Frank, whose name appears on the fungus. Harold Russell 2016 Facebook ____________________ Dorothy Russell Inducted into Hall of Fame By Harold Russell and Mary Ann Vanden Elzen On Sun. Apr. 28, 2019, an honour was bestowed on one of our own. That was the day longtime WRN member, Dorothy Russell, was inducted into the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum Hall of Fame under the category of Community Service. Dorothy Etta White was born on April 26, 1900 in Berlin, Ontario, in the Schantz family ancestral home originally built in 1888, on land purchased from Sam Schneider - grandson of pioneer Joseph Schneider. In her 105 years, almost entirely lived in this home, Dorothy had an impact on many lives. She was a mother, teacher, historian and amateur photographer. She painted, kept journals and diaries, and wrote hundreds of letters. She was an active member of the Waterloo Historical Society. But it is her love of nature and membership in our club which is the focus here. Love and respect for nature came early to Dorothy. With the death of her mother in 1900, her grandparents and aunts and uncles assumed her care. It was Uncle Frank, in particular, who took her under his wing. Uncle Frank Schantz was a naturalist and, when Dorothy was a young girl, they would regularly set out early on May mornings and walk to nearby Victoria Park or Waterworks (Lakeside) Park to identify migrating warblers. By the age of eight, she was making her own bird checklists. Her Uncle Orpheus Schantz of Chicago was a famous naturalist and president of the Illinois Audubon Society. He, too, encouraged her interest in the outdoors. In 1934, Uncle Frank became one of the original founders of the KWFN. Dorothy's best friend, Viola Snyder (later Hanson), was also a founder. It was in 1946 when Uncle Frank assumed the presidency of the club that Dorothy took out formal membership. And she remained a member for the rest of her life. Dorothy played an active role in the club. She was a regular at meetings and outings. Archival photos show her at close-to-home outings such as Hidden Valley, Dickson Wilderness and Pioneers Tower. As well, she enjoyed traveling further afield to Tobermory and Point Pelee. Dorothy also took on responsibilities with the club. In the 1960s, she was in charge of ticket sales for the Audubon Screen Tour shows presented at KCI and other venues throughout KW. These shows raised thousands of dollars toward the first purchases of land sanctuaries by the club including the Dickson Wilderness Area, Wrigley Lake and Bannister Lake. Dorothy also volunteered for two stints on the Board of Directors: from 1953-56 and again from 1968-72. But she seemed to have a particular passion for the annual Christmas Bird Counts. After earning her driver's license at the age of 57, she became a youth mentor and driver, never missing a CBC, as was acknowledged when she received the club's Life Membership Award on her 86th birthday. She was given this award for her long and faithful association with the club. Inscribed on the award were the words, "As she treasures nature, so we treasure her." With the turn of the millennium, as Dorothy celebrated her 100th year, the KWFN acknowledged her century of achievement - including bringing the joy of the outdoors to people - by planting a Red Oak tree in Victoria Park behind the newly-installed park bench donated in her honour. The dedication plaque on the bench reads: "Dorothy Russell, 1900- 2000, Friends and Neighbours." It is still there for anyone to see and rest upon. In 2001, she was honoured with the rarely given 50+ pin Ontario Volunteer Service Award. Her name had been put forward by the club. It wasn't that Dorothy had set impossible records or achieved bold accomplishments. It was rather thashe lived life with verve and delight. She served and was a mentor to many. But also because she left behind an extraordinary record which spanned more than a century. In 1996, two years after the restoration of the family home, Dorothy, and Harold and Lynne Russell entered into an agreement with the University of Waterloo to donate the substantial paper archive which had accumulated in their attic. This collection consisted of thousands of letters, over 800 books, diaries, clippings, maps, assorted ephemera and especially Dorothy's photographs organized in 13 albums. These materials revealed the life stories of a local family of eight children and their descendants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They provided a resource on the history of the family members and the wider community. Without Dorothy's preservation of this collection, it, like many others, would have been lost. Waterloo Region Nature has also benefitted from Dorothy's birding records, specifically her 35mm slide photographs. Some of these were donated by her son, Harold, to our own club archives which now reside in the Region of Waterloo Archives located in the historic courthouse building in downtown Kitchener. These photographs are available to anyone for research and study purposes. Dorothy Russell had an impact on many individuals and organizations in Waterloo Region. And, with these donated materials, her impact will continue for many more years to come. So, drop by the Waterloo Region Museum sometime, go to the second floor mezzanine, and view the Dorothy Russell display case. Check out the items there including the old Kodak Brownie camera which took so many of her memorable photos. And, if you're in Victoria Park, have a little sit on her bench. Take a few moments to drink in the beauty and serenity of the surroundings. Consider that Dorothy's personal gift to you. 2023. Waterlooregionnature.Ca. https://waterlooregionnature.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/The_Heron_Fall_2019.pdf.

  
  

• Sources

  [S137] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1901, Berlin (Town/Ville) A-11 Page 16. [S340] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1911, Div. 25 1911 Pg. 9. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Name: Flemming Clarke Russell Sex: Male Age: 22 Birth Year (Estimated): 1902 Palmyra, Kent, Ontario occ: musician - Kitchener Father's Name: Ernest Russell Mother's Name: Jennie Brown Spouse's Name: Dorothy Etta White Spouse's Sex: Female Spouse's Age: 24 Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1900 Kitchener Occ: Teacher - Kitchener Spouse's Father's Name: Ward White Spouse's Mother's Name: Etta Schantz Event Type: Marriage Event Date: 02 Jul 1924 Event Place: Guelph, Wellington, Ontario, Canada [S32] News - Herald of Truth, June 1, 1900 - Obituary of Etta White. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Name: Ward M White Sex: Male Age: 27 Birth Year (Estimated): 1871 Leamington Res: Leamington Father's Name: Jno White Mother's Name: Susan White Spouse's Name: Etta Shantz Spouse's Sex: Female Spouse's Age: 29 Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1869 Berlin Res: Berlin Spouse's Father's Name: Tobias Shantz Spouse's Mother's Name: Mary Shantz Event Type: Marriage Event Date: 01 Sep 1898 Event Place: Berlin, , Ontario, Canada

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 26 Apr 1900 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - United Bretheran - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - teacher - 1924 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 2 Jul 1924 - Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada Died - 18 Jan 2006 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth