BY ILONA SAARI
PEGGY
A
RUSSELL
LL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL
Peggy Russell is adoptive mom to injured, abandoned and rescued pigs, horses, donkeys, peacocks, turkeys, quail, rabbits, emus, and has even fostered an alpaca or two. Along with her husband, John, they have been lovingly rescuing and boarding animals for decades in Altadena/ Pasadena, and now in Ojai, where she and John tend their own private animal reserve. Born in Aurora, Illinois, Peggy moved to California in 1960 where she went to Alhambra High, then California State University. She loved math and, after college, became a bookkeeper for J and J Equipment Company — which manufactured wholesale lockers for various industries, and which happened to be owned by John Russell. Peggy worked there for a few years, but shortly after marrying a man in the United States Army Honor Guard, she found herself in Germany where she received a top security clearance while working as a secretary to G-1, United States Army Headquarters in Heidelberg. A year later, Peggy was back in Alhambra with her husband and was rehired at J and J Equipment, now Rusco, Inc. Not long after returning to California, her son Derek, was born, but by the time
26
OM — March 2020
Derek was two, her marriage had ended. As Peggy learned more about accounting and took on more responsibility at Rusco, she was promoted to Secretary/ Treasurer of the company. During this time, Peggy and John, who was also divorced, began dating. Their relationship flourished. Not a conventional guy, John didn’t go down on one knee to propose, or take her out for a fancy dinner and surprise her with an engagement ring while a violinist serenaded them at their table. No, he proposed by phone. But what a proposal it was! Backstory: a friend of John’s who worked at JPL was in charge of two tracking stations used to monitor American spacecraft launched into the atmosphere. One of those stations was in Spain and, when his friend was assigned there, John thought it would be fun to take some time off from his business and tag along. While in Spain, he found himself in a laundromat, missing Peggy. He decided to call her and, right there during the spin cycle (figuratively speaking), he asked her to marry him. After that $400 phone call, John had a fiancé and, presumably, clean clothes. He regards it as a great bargain.
