Russell Walden Scarborough died peacefully at his home on Skidaway Island on the evening of March 4, 2021 in the company of his family and friends and his beloved cats, Fletcher and Boots.

Mr. Scarborough was born December 1, 1930 in Dublin, Georgia, the youngest son of James Aaron and Pearl Lillian Dixon Scarborough.  He graduated from Berry College with a degree in history.  While at Berry he was the chapel verger, and he would often recount how he never heard a sermon because after lighting the candles, he would exit through the back door and reappear at the end of the service to lead the procession out.

After college, Russell joined the Air Force and was soon assigned to the National Security Agency.  Upon completing military service, he worked for Allyn & Bacon recruiting authors for higher education textbooks, a job he enjoyed very much.  But Russell took to heart the call to “go west young man” and headed for San Francisco and thus began his 60-year love affair with the “city by the bay.”

In San Francisco he affiliated with Blue Cross rising to the position of Director of Sales for Northern California, in charge of corporate accounts.  He retired at age 55, to found Scarborough Insurance Agency and to renovate several historic properties in the city.

Russell enjoyed many things: cultivating bonsai, collecting artwork by obscure artists, entertaining friends in his Telegraph Hill home and most especially his cats.  He was never without one or two feline friends.

In 2000 Russell purchased a home on Skidaway Island near Savannah and became, as he described it, “bi-coastal” -- traveling back and forth between California and Georgia.

Whether on the east or west coast, Russell was an eccentric and his obituary would not be complete without noting that his wardrobe was a great embarrassment to his family – the more outrageous, the better he liked it.  He could frequently be seen about town wearing pajama bottoms, a corporate tee shirt, ratty bedroom slippers and a broad-brimmed hat.

We are sure this was his attire when he made his last trip home to San Francisco in November of 2019.  On December 1, 2020 Russell celebrated his 90th. Birthday (virtually), an event he enjoyed immensely.  Sadly, over the next 3 months his health declined, but even as death approached he enjoyed living every day, thanks to a team of compassionate caregivers, many kind friends and his loving family.

“Say not in grief he is no more but in thankfulness that he was.”