Russ Mohney died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 75 from an aortic aneurysm, according to his daughter. He was The Chronicle’s outdoors writer for the past decade, but so much more.
“He knew a little bit of something about everything,” said daughter Kelly Ann Landers, one of four children Mohney leaves behind. She was at his side when he died. “He was a true jack of all trades and he had such a great sense of humor and a great sense of the outdoors.”
Mohney shared that insight into the outdoors each Tuesday in The Chronicle, encouraging readers to make nettle soup, keep a clean bird house and more than anything, get out into the backwoods of Lewis County.
“We could go anywhere outdoors,” Landers said. “He would take a willow branch and make a whistle. It just seemed like there wasn’t anything he didn’t know. He was just fascinating.”
Mohney is known for his weekly column The Backyard Naturalist, his coverage of the outdoors, as a winning local political campaign operative, a former public relations employee at Centralia College, as the author of several books, and, well, the list is seemingly endless.
He gave us a weekly report on where to catch fish, shoot game, dig clams and spot that rare bird. Mohney always knew the best patch of land to pick huckleberries in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the fall.
He was an accomplished author, with his most recent book published — “A Simple Song, Recollections from a Backwoods County.” One of his best-selling books is the hard-cover “Why Wild Edibles?”
In an introduction to “A Simple Song,” fellow Chronicle columnist Gordon Aadland wrote in the book’s forward, “When I met Russ, my first thought was ‘Maine Woods guide.’ It applied to both his appearance and demeanor. I had a feeling that beneath the quiet surface, the river was running deep. Friends tell me that he has simplified his life too, at least as much as he can and still keep himself able to buy fishing lures and birdseed.
“When it comes to writing style, Russ has Thoreau beat by a country lane mile. He has developed what I would call ‘a simple elegance,’ using plain language to tell about life in the outdoors in an imaginative, entertaining way.”
Russ was more than an outdoors expert. He played on the Asian senior golf tour and set the course record at the now defunct Elks Golf Course in Centralia. He broadcast free speech radio reports into China. He was a woodworker and an artist specializing in American Indian drawings. He worked for the Forest Service and as a fisherman.
The Chronicle along with the Lewis County Economic Development Council and Mohney created the Russ Mohney Recreation Resource Stewardship Award. In an introduction speech for the award, Chronicle Executive Editor Michael Wagar said, “Those of us that know Russ understand the depth of his knowledge. Yet it is his love of the outdoors, and his deep desire to have others experience nature, that motivates Russ. He is the great outdoors biggest champion and cheerleader. While some ‘tree huggers’ would rather humankind stay out of the backwoods, Russ believes getting out amongst the trees and the streams and the lakes, especially as found in east Lewis County, is the proper way to respect nature.”
While a radio personality on KELA-KMNT back in the summer of 1988, Russ heard of a young girl who needed a heart-lung transplant. The hospital required a deposit.
Mohney decided that if the radio listeners all donated $5 each, they could raise the needed amount. Along with his colleague Jim Cook, the two went on a month-long campaign, promising to push two wheelbarrows full of cash the 19 miles from the radio station in Centralia to the young woman’s house in Winlock. They collected $34,000.
“This is a memory that will always stay with me and my family and I wanted to share it with others,” said Barb Lewis, the mother of the girl, in an e-mail to The Chronicle several years ago. “This kind, caring man had an idea for a young girl he had never met.”
Mohney was a proud yet humble man. His word was golden, Wagar said, adding Mohney never missed a column, never missed a deadline, despite some trying health circumstances. Mohney had suffered from health problems for the past few years, but did successfully fight back against two types of cancer.
“He was an incredible man,” Wagar said. “While most were able to enjoy his wonderful writing style, I had the fortune to be his editor on one of his books and in his writings for The Chronicle, where we formed a true friendship. He was a gentle soul, with as sharp a mind and wit as I ever met. His loss is so deep. I’ve never met a person that knew more about life than Russ. I will miss our weekly talks more than anyone can imagine. This is a huge loss for us all.”
He joins his long-time partner and the love of his life of 24 years Linda Sue Harbison who died of cancer just three weeks ago. A week after her death, Mohney wrote in his Backyard Naturalist column titled “My Heart Speaks,” “I speak today of camping simply because it is the example that best lets me explain to you the lovely spirit that has been my constant companion; the depth of my sadness in these most trying of days; and my wish to share with you the quiet beauty that was my beloved.
“My tent is folded away, perhaps for the last time, but a vision of my perfect companion remains an unclouded memory until we meet again.
“Farewell, my precious Linda. Sweet dreams.”
Two weeks after writing those words, Mohney joined his partner and folded up his tent for good.
Editor’s note: We encourage those that knew and loved Mohney to send in their stories of the man. Send them to news@chronline.com.
