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<p><em>Theodore Russ Dunn</em> was a member of the Old Dominion Rowing Club that won the National High School Championship for eight-oared shells in 1956. After high school he followed a family tradition by attending West Point. Graduating in 1960, Russ entered the Marine Corps, serving in the Mediterranean and Guantanamo Bay. At loose ends after his military service and after many harrowing adventures in his old Pontiac convertible, he survived long enough to make a decision to study law and enrolled at Georgetown University Law School. There he excelled and found his true calling. He became managing editor of the <em>Law Review</em> and graduated with highest honors in 1965. He married Patricia Lyon in 1962 and had two children, Jennifer Ann and John Warren. He was later divorced.</p>
<p>Always looking for an adventure, Russ chose Alaska to begin his law practice. In 1969 he co-founded the firm of Dunn, Bailey, and Mathews. Russ distinguished himself as a trial attorney specializing in aviation and product failure cases. He won numerous precedent-setting awards and helped to establish the law of strict products liability in Alaska. Russ was inducted into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and was honored by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association with its Career Achievement Award.</p>
<p>Russ was an active and effective conservationist. He founded the “Alaska Chapter of Trout Unlimited.” As a result of his advocacy many of Alaska’s premier trout streams were placed under catch and release management. Russ was a board member of the Alaska Conservation Society and served on the small ad hoc committee that was instrumental in establishing the 500,000-acre Chugach State Park. His name is inscribed on a plaque at the park entrance.</p>
<p>Russ took a yearly float with friends on wilderness rivers that were memorable for spicy food, derisive limericks, and occasional episodes of sheer survival. He briefly owned and flew a float plane. but he gave up flying in favor of a long and happy life soon after he “landed long” on the largest lake in the state and put a wing through a shed that was the only building within 10 miles.</p>
<p>After 16 years in Alaska, Russ decided to see what living in the “lower 48” would be like and moved to Bozeman, MT in 1978. But he also knew that he needed a place to “get away.” He and four friends purchased a small ranch near Big Sheep Creek trout stream that fit the bill. It was a place of stunning beauty and quiet solitude where the fish were plenty and the grouse were always accommodating. </p>
<p>In 1983, he married Ruth Attebury and together they had two sons, Thomas Joseph “Joe” and Robert Edward “Rob.” After a devastating bout of lymphoma in 1997, Russ left Montana and returned to Virginia to recuperate. Sea air and outside activity seemed to help him heal. Russ was not one to be idle long.</p>
<p>After settling in a small fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay, he bought an old Norwegian sea captains’ home. Many friends visited during those six years and were treated to soft shell crabs and boat trips to the barrier islands. </p>
<p>Not to waste all the sea water around him, Russ decided to introduce the students at his sons’ school to the sport of rowing. The only problem being they had no boat and no equipment. After calling the Naval Academy, Russ was told there was a used four seat shell available. Wasting no time, he was off to pick up the boat. Driving from Annapolis to Virginia at night on the busiest highway between New York and Florida with a large boat and trailer was a testament to his commitment. In their second year his crew won first place in the novice division at the Broad Bay Challenge in Norfolk, VA.</p>
<p>As a private citizen Russ continued to fight corporate actions that harmed the environment, including one firm seeking to dump trash on a historic island in the Chesapeake Bay that state officials had quietly approved. Russ personally fought against the project with his own meticulous approach and prevailed at stopping the entire effort. </p>
<p>In 2003 he returned to Montana and began to practice in Bozeman with the Cok Kinzler law firm. As a preeminent lawyer and with excellent co-counsel in Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming he achieved judgements against Boeing Aircraft, Volkswagen Corp., the Alaska Pipeline, Bell Helicopter, Honda Motors, Caterpillar Corp., and General Motors. Russ was a risk taker who ably rose to the challenge of technical cases where he could match his engineering knowledge as well as his legal acumen against much larger foes. </p>
<p>Russ finally retired in 2013 and in spite of various health issues spent the last several years doing what he had done as a boy and a young man, cherishing friends, family, and the outdoors. He was a loyal friend and a man who always brought a dry sense of humor to any situation he encountered.</p>
<p>He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Ruth; his sons Joe and Robert; his daughter, Jennifer; his son John; his granddaughters, Virginia and Lorelei; and his most trusted friend, Rich Anderson of Billings, MT. </p>
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