Dr. Harry Russell Conrad, 98, passed away peacefully at Danbury Senior Living in Wooster on June 2, 2024, surrounded by family. “Russ” as he was known, was born October 3, 1925, in Burlington, Kentucky, to Ivan and Addie Conrad. The fourth of 8 children (6 boys and 2 girls), he grew up on the family’s Boone County Kentucky farm, where they raised corn, soybeans, tobacco and were dairy farmers. Originally, it was Russell’s mother who milked the cows, and as a toddler, she would put him on a bale of hay while she milked. The dairy farming expanded and when he was 10, he took over the chore of driving cows at 5:30 am, and eventually by the time he was 12, milking the cows himself. This was the beginning of his future profession, where he was to become an internationally known researcher and professor in the fields of Dairy Science and Animal Nutrition.
Russell began college at the University of Kentucky in 1942; however, in December of 1943 he was drafted into the Navy during World War II. He first went to Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago and then trained as an electronics technician in Gulfport, Mississippi. He served as a radio technician in the Pacific, first aboard the USS Mt. McKinley, and later aboard a Patrol Gun Boat in the Philippines.
In 1946, Russ was discharged from the Navy and returned to his studies at the University of Kentucky. He graduated in 1948 with a BS in Agriculture. While at U.K. he was President of the school’s YMCA, received the Sullivan Medal as the outstanding male student graduate, and was also a Danforth Scholar.
He began a graduate assistantship in the Department of Dairy Science at The Ohio State University in 1948. He continued in the Dairy Science Department both in Columbus and at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station (later the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and now known as CFAES) in Wooster as an instructor, receiving his Ph.D. in 1952 with an emphasis in Animal Nutrition. He published more than 150 articles in peer reviewed journals, contributing to our knowledge of animal nutrition across six different areas. His career at Ohio State spanned 40 years. He retired in 1989 as Professor Emeritus after having served as the Associate Director of the OARDC.
He received recognition from his research peers including the American Feed Manufacturers Award in 1959, the Borden Award in Dairy Production in 1966, and the Gus Bohstedt Award from the American Dairy Association in 1977. In 1969 he was invited to be part of the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health.
Russ was married to Helen Maslowski in 1951 and they had a daughter Jean. Helen died in 1954. In 1959, Russ married fellow University of Kentucky graduate Virginia Lipscomb, with whom he had a daughter Janet, and they were married for 59 years before her death in 2018.
Russell and Virginia were avid dahlia growers and showed their flowers nationally as part of American Dahlia Society. They loved to share their dahlias with friends in the community. Russell received an honorary award from the dahlia society for his contributions over the years in 2021.
In addition, Russ was an active member of the Wooster Kiwanis Club for over 65 years and was a past president of the Wayne County Unit of the American Cancer Society. Russ also served for six years on the Board of Trustees of Wittenberg University. He was a member of the scientific research honor societies Sigma Xi and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
For Russ, faith was the cornerstone of his life. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church for over 70 years, first serving as a youth leader then as an active member of the Evangelism Committee for Zion. He also served on the Evangelism Committee for the Ohio Synod of the Lutheran Church in America. His commitment to his faith continued unwaveringly throughout his life.
Russ was preceded in death by his parents Ivan and Addie Conrad, wives Helen Maslowski Conrad and Virginia Lipscomb Conrad, and by his 7 brothers and sisters: Evelyn Edwards, Orville, Dallas, Harold, Donald Gene, Carroll and Vera King.
He is survived by his daughters Jean Shackle and Janet Conrad (Vassili Papavassiliou), and his granddaughters Jennifer Shackle Duffy (Nick) and Christine Shackle. He is also survived by his great-grandson Quinn Duffy and great-granddaughter Taylor Duffy. He is also survived by numerous loving nieces and nephews and sisters-in-law Betty Jo Conrad, Audrey Conrad, Jean Evans Lipscomb, and Nellie Maslowski.
Funeral services and a celebration of life will be held at Zion Lutheran Church, 301 N. Market St., Wooster, at 11 am on Thursday, June 13. The family will receive visitors starting at 10 am prior to the service.
McIntire, Bradham and Sleek Funeral Home, 216 E. Larwill St., Wooster is assisting the family.
The family is very grateful to the staff of Danbury Senior Living for their dedicated care and friendship for Russ over the last six years.
Memorial contributions can be made to Zion Lutheran Church, 301 N. Market Street, Wooster, Ohio 44691 or to the Secrest Arboretum, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, Ohio, 44691.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.mcintirebradhamsleek.com.
Dr Conrad was a wonderful gentleman, kind and understanding. It was a joy to have known him.
Thankful to have known Russ, taking care of him was a pleasure. He will be very missed, his spirit was so contagious! Thinking of Janet and the family.
I loved caring for Russ in the short time I had the pleasure of doing so…I got to meet one of the girls and 1 granddaughter…they were such a pleasure to meet…thanking God for giving me that pleasure.. thinking of the family as they have to say goodbye to a loved one. .
Lots of love and prayers for Dr. Conrad’s family—Jean, her daughters, Jen & Nick (Quinn & Taylor) and Christine, as well as Janet & Vassili. Many prayers for strength and peace.
Thank you for your service. Condolences to the family.
Dear Jean and family,
I went to school with you even in grade school through high school, and
Dear Jean and family,
remember your dad well. I also remember your stepmother. I would like you to know how very sorry I am for your loss and know that you will miss your father greatly. He was a very well respected and intelligent man that I always followed when there was something in the paper about him. Perhaps it was my connection with you and I thought that was just so awesome
Sincerely
Becky (Fry) Schaaf
My deepest condolences to you and your family. Russell was at Danbury with my mom, Jessie. He and mom always “chatted” and teased each other. I loved reading about his childhood and earlier years of life. He was quite accomplished. I know he will be missed by many because touched many lives with his.
I worked in the Dairy Science lab at OARDC in the ’60s. I worked for Dr Conrad investigating why cows bloat. I would take samples from different kinds of alfalfa and hang them inside the stomach of the cow that had the hole(fistula) in its side. After a time, I analyzed these sample for various things and reported the results to Dr Conrad.
He was a wonderful man and scientist to work for and I will always remember the good times and knowledge that I gained! I went on and got a degree in chemistry from Ohio University.
I know your family is aware that Dr. Conrad was an amazing person, but he was also very influential in my life. In the early 1980’s, I was a young divorced African American mother of 3 and applied for a job in Dairy Science at the OARDC. Dr. Conrad hired me to work in the lab. That experience led to friendships that have lasted over 40 years. It put me in direct contact with women like Beth Amiet Smith and Dr. Deborah Todd-Hunter, who I aspired to be like. I would talk with him and he was a wonderful mentor that encourage me to work hard and get a higher education. He flexed my schedule so I could attend classes at the University of Akron. He bought me tires because mine were threadbare and I couldn’t afford them. That was a very Christian thing to do that exemplified his character. Working in that environment influenced me and my children because the aforementioned women became my close friends and helped nurture my children. He would be thrilled to know that I earned a Masters in Education and retired last year. He’d be over the moon to know my daughter graduated from Yale University and earned an MBA from Northwestern! He was the ember that started a fire. May god bless your family with the peace of knowing he was a catalyst that changed a faimily from what was a negative into a positive. My married name ironically, is Conrad. When I met him it was Ruth Jean Johnson-Pinnick.