Roll Call Tribute

Russell Allen McCormick 

May 3, 1943 - December 15, 2023 

Russ McCormick passed away at his home in Knoxville, Iowa, on December 15, 2023, from pancreatic cancer. He was born in Cambridge, Ohio, on May 3, 1943, to Edward and Goldie McCormick.

Russ was a 1961 graduate of Proviso West High School in Illinois. He joined the Air Force ROTC in college which funded his schooling at the University of Illinois and Texas A&M University. His degrees were in physics.

After leaving the service, Russ moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he started his career in software computing. He worked for several companies as a software engineer and manager. These jobs took him and his wife, Florence, to Denver (Westminster), Colorado, and Cincinnati (Loveland), Ohio. He retired from Siemens in 2014.

Russ’ passions were physics, astronomy, and sports. As a member of the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA), he developed software that helped amateur astronomers around the world. In 2022, he and Florence completed going to games at all 30 MLB stadiums.

Russ was preceded in death by his parents, son, Marc McCormick, sister, Janet (McCormick) Swanson and brother-in-law, Arthur Swanson, and sister, Evelyn (McCormick) Giorgetti, and brother-in-law, Ted Giorgetti.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 43 years, Florence Bartels, son, Michael (Laura) McCormick, grandchildren, Matt, Andrew, and Ryan, brother-in-law, Jeff (Sharon) Bartels, nieces, Karen (Mike) O’Shaughnessy, Valerie (Adam) Rosenzweig, and Jennifer (Troy) Padellford, nephews, Douglas (Laurie) Swanson, David (Jennie) Bartels, and Chris (Rebekah) Bartels.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, December 21, 2023, 4:00-5:00 p.m., at Bybee & Davis Funeral Home in Knoxville. A celebration of life will follow at 5:00 p.m., at the funeral home. At a later date, a burial service will be held at Grand-View Park Cemetery in Hopkins, Minnesota, followed by a reception.

Special thanks to Suncrest Hospice for their exceptional care this past year.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local PBS station or a memorial of your choice.