There
is a degree of respect that seems to come from earning a Doctorate and
achieving the position of Planetarium Director. And then there is
the degree of respect that one commands for his accomplishments once he
achieves such a position. In the rarest of instances, an
individual
unceasingly dedicates himself to his chosen field. From those
with
whom he interacts he commands both personal and professional respect.
And
still, if that's not enough, poking his head out from under all his
various
hats is Erik, the man we call colleague, mentor and most of all
"friend".
Erik is one of those rare individuals who has truly touched the lives of those with whom he’s worked and associated. The outpouring of affection and admiration he commands has been overwhelming. Erik’s dedication to ASTRA encompassed every aspect of creating an organization not just to promote Astronomy but also to create pride in membership. He welcomes new members to ASTRA with open arms. We are all new members to him so everyone knows the feeling. He never spoke down to any of us even though his knowledge surpasses all of us. He made us feel like his equal. He wanted us all to excel at this hobby. Whether it was pointing out a satellite at a star party, discussing recent developments in the field, helping a new member with a small/new telescope or just shooting the breeze, Erik wanted us to enjoy the Astronomy hobby to the max. Like it was his personal responsibility. Anything he could do to make our enjoyment of the night sky better was important to him.
By himself Erik did what must now be done by at least 5 members. He gave the club stability, organization and direction. For many years, he was the only club member who made presentations. A great storyteller, sharing with us many a tale both personal and scientific. He is the father who adopted ASTRA in its infancy and nurtured it through its childhood and teens. With his impending retirement, he began preparing his child to enter adulthood. Because of Erik, we consider ourselves Amateur Astronomers, not just hobbyists. We can run ASTRA without him. Not because we are so good, but because he taught us so well. We learned more than just Astronomy skills from Erik. We learned people skills as well, and if you have that, the rest is gravity (or is it gravy).
Because of Erik, many of us discovered hidden talents. We discovered we could understand many aspects of the hobby that seemed way over our heads. If you were stuck, Erik could always give you that push to get you started again, and was happy to do it. He gave you confidence. He would encourage you to speak at a meeting even if you didn't have much to say. He made you feel like it was important because it was important to him. Erik would help you prepare for a presentation and made you feel you were up to the challenge. The guy never separated the "big guns" from the "lightweights". He knew we all have something to offer and somehow he could bring it to the surface.
Erik has reached a crossroad in his life. He has retired from the Robert Novins Planetarium after 26 years of service. He is not retiring from ASTRA, but he will no longer be our club "Director". The two endeavors were so intertwined that Erik's retirement brings ASTRA to a crossroad as well.
Erik became the Director of the Planetarium in 1974, when it first opened. Erik's assistant John Coolbaugh started ASTRA in 1977. John left within about a year and Erik took over the operation of the club. Erik ran the whole show. As stated in the "Man of Many Hats" award that we presented to Erik last December, those tasks included publishing the newsletter, performing as the club Secretary, keeping club membership records, being the club treasurer, running the club meetings, presiding at all of the meetings, being the "Astronimical League" coordinator, buying cookies/refreshments, hosting the college star parties and was just as happy as he could be to do it. This was all in addition to his real job as Director of the Planetarium, preparing scripts for many shows, preparing the slides for all of the shows, being the Planetarium service man, teaching "Astronomy/Navigation" courses.
As ASTRA became more active, editing/publishing the "ASTRAL Projections", creating/managing the club web site, maintaining a list of e-mail addresses, hosting club picnics managing club telescopes, coordinating "Astronomy Day". Now that Erik is retiring, ASTRA has taken on the responsibility, through the election of club officers, of those tasks related to the club. A full executive board is necessary to accomplish what Erik has done alone for all of these years.
Erik and
Gayle,
his wife, haved moved to Georgia. Erik will not be gone in
spirit,
however; as he will remain net connected to us, I am sure we will hear
about his "Astronomical Adventures" in Georgia. We will,
nonetheless,
miss the interaction ASTRA has had with him over the years and on which
it has come to rely in so many ways. Will he be missed?
Certainly.
Will he be called upon for advice and guidance? Probably.
Will
a time ever come when he and his achievements are not gratefully
acknowledged?
NEVER! And so we are here to wish him "not farewell, but fare
forward,
voyager"! The club you founded is strong. If ASTRA has a last name it's
"Zimmermann".
Addendum
Erik had returned to the Novins Planetarium in 2003
as a part-time lecturer. He missed us and we missed him. Welcome back.
Dr. Zimmermann passed away Jan 26th, 2007 at the age
ogf 65.
The Dr. R. Erik Zimmermann Award
Congratulations!
To
Eugene Russo
recipient of the
Dr. R. Erik Zimmermann
Award
For his dedication
and contributions to the
Astronomical
Society of the Toms River Area.
We Thank You!
It is with deep sadness and regret that we must advise you all that Gene Russo passed away December 7th 2010 at home with his family by his side.
Some remarks from Gene’s friends…
When you first meet Gene your first impression might be, “Look at this guy, he thinks he knows everything”. Gene is such knowledgeable and likable guy that your opinion rapidly changes to, “Look at this guy, he knows everything”. Through the years many experienced ASTRA members have helped spark the interest in astronomy to newer members, sort of a Mentor I guess. Well Gene was our Mentor, the Mentor’s Mentor igniting our interest and desire to get others involved in the club and Astronomy, so we can all thank him for that.
We may as well call him Gene “How can I help” Russo. There’s never been a question at a meeting, a post on the message board or Telescope project Gene did not want to get involved in. He’s the McGiver of Astronomy. As a Comet Chief, well not even Gordon Ramsey could shake a stick at him. We’ve all seen him take a group of small children under his wing at the Astronomy day Comet Making table and become entertainer, teacher and clown in one 35 minute session. *** “We’re gona need that recipe Gene”.
He’s been to more Star Parties for Public outreach than anyone can count. Often he’d have a challenge object or a particularly interesting DSO for us to observe. At these events or an ASTRA meeting Gene could lecture at any level from simple “How to buy your first telescope” type themes to “Light wave transmission lengths through different types of Hydrogen Alpha, Beta, Sky Glow and Oxygen III Nebula filters”. ***”Does anyone know what I just said? Gene will explain later.” He always volunteered his time to do these lectures at meetings and public outreach events and took great pride in doing so. We all were happy to listen and consider ourselves lucky to have him there.
As an Astronomical observer, no one has a better eye than Gene. He taught us that observing faint objects in a telescope is a skill to be learned over the years and that knowledge of the night sky beats a goto telescope hands down. Gene insists that if you keep looking and your scope is good enough, you’ll see what you looking for and he is correct. Always willing to share his eyepiece (or assist you at yours), Gene showed us many DSO’s we might have missed and could talk you thru seeing them as well. It would go something like this:
“Look again” he’d say. “Half a degree North of the two 12th magnitude stars with the 14th magnitude star below them”.
“GENE! Speak English!”
“OK, just above that dim triangle of stars”
“OH Yeah, I see it, a dim speck right?”
“That’s it! You got it!”
Never would have seen that without Gene, but more important, he taught us not only “how” to look for dim specks like that he taught us how to appreciate them. (Bob S.)
There have been so many thoughts going through my mind since I heard of Gene's passing. It's tough to sum up what I want to say, so let me just say this: Gene Russo was not just my employee, he was my friend. And my life is richer for having known him. (Gloria V.)
We will miss Gene very much. I remember one of the first telescope workshops I helped at. Gene had chosen a young girl about 8 who brought her new telescope to get help. It was a small telescope and the tripod was not very sturdy. We both watched as she tried so hard to see the moon. Gene put one of his home worked on/homemade telescopes in front of her and asked if she could get that one to work. Well she was SOOO excited to find the moon on her own. Well....when Gene asked she would mind trading with him it was one of the most heartwarming wonderful moments I have ever seen. Between the spark of Astronomy in this wonderful little girl and the amazement of the parents and the joy Gene received in giving her the better telescope. Gene showed how much he loved to help others whenever he was able to. He helped me many times with my telescope and always had time to answer every ones questions. Our heart goes out to Pat and Gene's family. Our heart also goes out to so many friends that will miss him and all people he touched with his kindness and good nature. He was an original member of ASTRA and hard worker at the Novins Planetarium. Truly a man that made a difference in this world. And... Rich loved to talk about deer hunting with him. :- ) (Love ya GENE! Sarah & Rich W.)
God Bless you Gene on your final voyage! We have all been enriched with your presence! We are less without you! We know; in our Faith; where you are! We will all be together again someday. "Oh Death, Where is thy sting". Love to Gene, and his Family! Love to all! (Ronald W. Kelleher)
I am just so saddened by the news. I'll always remember the good times that I was able to share with Gene, and his constant good nature. Rest in Peace Gene. (Pete C.)
Loss of friend and colleague. Gene's passing is both sudden and sad. The memories come thick and fast of Gene entertaining folks through ASTRA and at Novins. His talents as a builder, innovator and fixer-upper kept Novins up and running through many an equipment crisis. Now he joins the deep sky realm he so avidly sought out with his telescopes. Our loss is great. (Phil Z.)
I am a recent member and did not have the opportunity to get to know Gene very well and share experiences with him as many of you were fortunate to have done. I will miss our conversations. This is so sudden and so sad. (Vic P.)
I'll miss you Gene and thanks for everything. (Mike Kozic)
Gene was a friend. He had a big heart and was very charitable with his knowledge of many things and always sharing... Not only was I fond of Gene but Vicki also... she is devastated with his loss! Our hearts and prayers go out to Pat and his immediate family! (Mauro & Vicki B.)
I’m sure I am speaking for many members of STAR Astronomy Club to express much sadness to learn of Gene's passing. I did not know him very well as others did, but I could tell he was a special person to many people and a great ambassador for our hobby. Prayers for Gene and his family. (Rich Gaynor Vice President STAR Astronomy Club)
Gene showed us there’s a time and a place for different observations. One of Gene’s quotes from Coyle field is, “It’s 2:00 AM, it’s 9 degrees out here, my hands and feet are frozen stiff, we’re not here at this time to still be looking at M13”. That says it all. The dimmer the speck he can see the better he likes it. Gene gave us that kind of appreciation for the night sky free of charge.
We at ASTRA are very grateful for everything Gene has done for the club and for us (the members) over the years. From his term as President, his Lectures, Teachings, Advice, Assistance, Encouragement and Enthusiasm we are all better amateur Astronomers. Now let’s take it one step further, because of Gene Russo we are all better human beings, better friends.
For this we award you the first Dr. R. Erik Zimmerman award for a lifetime of achievement at ASTRA. Thank You, (Bob S.)
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