Dorothy Russell

Teacher, naturalist, historian, and amateur photographer Dorothy Russell had an impact on many organizations in Waterloo Region.

Dorothy graduated from the Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School in 1920 and received her teacher training at the Toronto Normal School the following year. Upon graduation, she immediately began teaching kindergarten at Kitchener’s Suddaby Public School, and worked in a number of schools until her retirement in 1965.

As a child, Dorothy had been taught to respect nature and, as a teacher, she often incorporated this environmental stewardship into her lessons.

Dorothy’s uncle, Frank Schantz, was a founder of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists in 1934. She joined the K-W Field Naturalists in 1946 and continued to be actively involved, especially with the annual Christmas Bird Count, until past her 100th birthday.

An active member of the Waterloo Historical Society, Dorothy was a valuable resource during the planning of Kitchener’s Victoria Park 100th Anniversary celebration in1996. At the age of 96, she was chosen to play the role of Queen Victoria.

Dorothy, an avid photographer, began documenting the local community before the First World War. She also preserved a large collection of family papers and photographs, which illustrated life in Ontario in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This collection, donated to area archives and museums, is a significant resource for historians and has been widely used by scholars.