Oliver George Russ, 94, of Seneca, KS died February 25, 2015 at Life Care Center of Seneca.  He was born August 10, 1920, on a farm southwest of Kelly, KS, the son of George C. and Pauline Wilhelm Russ.  He first attended Sunny Knoll School near his home.  Later the family moved to the Corning, KS, area where he attended several rural schools before graduating from Corning Rural High School in 1938. After a year of Normal Training, he taught in a rural school south of Sabetha for two years and at Pleasant Ridge School north of Baileyville, KS.

He served in the Medical Corps in the South Pacific during World War II. After discharge he enrolled at Kansas State Agricultural College and earned a B.S. and Master’s degrees. He directed research on KSU experimental stations at Canton, Newton and Mound Valley, KS. From 1965 until retirement in 1990, he specialized in weed control research as an agronomist and graduate student advisor at KSU. Upon retirement, he moved to Lincoln, NE and to Seneca, KS in 1996.

As a member of the American Bluebird Society, he has continued a lifelong interest in Bluebirds and in restoring them to northeast Kansas.    he maintained a 35 nesting-box trail for Bluebirds, checking the boxes weekly during the nesting season from March 1, to September 1.  Usually about 150 bluebird nestlings are fledged each year.  In addition to building bluebird nesting boxes, he also builds other bird houses and bird feeders.

He married Ruth Robison on September 6, 1946 at Corning, Kansas.  She died October 17, 1956.  On June 17, 1957, he married Marguerite Robison, from Pawnee City, NE.

Survivors are two daughters, Deborah Jo Russ Farwell and her husband Jim Farwell of Lincoln, NE and Deanne Russ of The French West Indies; a sister Irene Mohringer of Holton, KS; four grandchildren, and three great grandson.

Besides his first wife, Ruth, and his second wife Marguerite; he was preceded in death by a sister, Alice Hauldren.

A celebration of life services will be held at the Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca on Friday, February 27, 2015 at 1PM.   Inurnment will be at a later date at the Pawnee City Cemetery.

Memorials may be sent to Basic Cancer Research at Kansas State University.  Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca is in charge of arrangements.