A football player, a car mechanic, a CIA agent trying to catch Russian spies….we truly can do whatever we want or be whatever we want….in our dreams, that is. And dreams are one thing that we all have in common. We all dream. Some people, however, have a livelier, more adventurous time in their nighttime reveries than do others. D. Douglas Russell, more affectionately known to most as Grandpa Doug, is one of these people.

In his dreams, Doug has done it all. He has run for championship touchdowns, stopped a truck from rolling down a treacherously sloped hill, and most excitingly, been a United States agent catching and killing Russian Spies during the Cold War. Unfortunately, however, the Russian spy whom he had attempted to catch and strangle turned out to be his wife. Do not be alarmed; she was not harmed in the situation, for he awoke to her angry screeches and squeals before any real damage could be done.









However exciting as his dreams may be, Douglas is quite adamant in his belief that his real life has been much more thrilling than any of his nocturnal adventures, and one would be hard-pressed to find an argument to the contrary. Retracing the footsteps of Doug’s life reveals a history full of adventure and accomplishment in both his career, and his family.

Being born only a month before the stock market crash of 1929, Douglas spent his childhood in a poverty-stricken, depressed era. His parents, Maureen and Bill Russell, worked tirelessly to earn the money to give Doug a college education. Their labor and struggles were proved worthwhile when Douglas, after graduating from Orem High School, was accepted to Brigham Young University.

While at BYU, Doug followed his parent’s example and worked assiduously to make sure he had a future. This became especially important to him after he met Delora Reed, a vivacious brunette who caught his eye and captured his heart. The result of his hard work was a composite teaching degree in history, political science, and geography, as well as a beautiful wife.









After college, Douglas put his education to work and began his teaching career at Ceder City High School, where he instructed young students in a rigorous course of United States history. After his eight year teaching stint in Southern Utah, Douglas moved north and was elected to the position of Vice President of the Utah Education Association. When he felt that his time in the big leagues had passed, Doug moved his game to a slightly smaller arena and accepted the position of executive secretary of the Davis Education Association, a title he held for nearly ten years.

After a decade of desk work, Doug realized that he missed being the classroom. He took a position as a U.S. studies teacher at Farmington Junior High to get back in the swing of things. After two years educating eighth-graders, Douglas decided that he wanted to make use of his other degrees and talents, and acquired a position teaching Advanced Placement courses in psychology, history, and United States and comparative government. While educating at Davis, Douglas taught many students who went on to become educators themselves, including Davis High’s AP Psychology teacher, Pam Coburn, and AP American History teacher, Jennifer Harward. “I would like to think that I had something to do with their decision to go into teaching,” Doug remarks, “and that they remember my Rodney Dangerfield impressions.”

Ten years after beginning work at Davis High, and thirty years after beginning his teaching career, Douglas retired with many outstanding educator awards under his belt. Since his retirement in 1994, Doug has spent many happy years with his four children, nineteen grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He looks forward to the birth of his next great-grandchild this coming October, and many more years with his rapidly expanding family.

“I am a lucky man. I have been blessed with success in my career, and with my family.” Doug sincerely states. “I wouldn’t trade places with anyone.”