Focus on Supporters: Dr. Russell Newkirk

By Wilma Jozwiak

Dr. Russ Newkirk finds his great­est joy in being of ser­vice to others.

Two golf carts donat­ed by Dr. Rus­sell Newkirk help Ed Miller main­tain the Native Plant Trail, as well as open the Arbore­tum to peo­ple with lim­it­ed mobility. 

That inten­tion was what led him into the prac­tice of med­i­cine. Russ retired a few years ago from St. Peter’s Hos­pi­tal, where he spent 43 years, begin­ning as a 19-year-old draw­ing blood dur­ing sum­mer vaca­tions and then as a med­ical doc­tor, serv­ing 23 years as chief of pathol­o­gy and lab­o­ra­to­ry med­i­cine. Russ believes in the pow­er of con­nec­tion when it comes to the prac­tice of med­i­cine. He some­times regrets that the field has become much more effi­cient in the deliv­ery of poten­tial inter­ven­tions, but pos­si­bly less wise in its insis­tence on extend­ing life for days or weeks at the loss of qual­i­ty of life. He con­tin­ues to share his wealth of knowl­edge through con­sul­ta­tions, and per­haps most mean­ing­ful­ly to him, through med­ical mis­sions to Haiti, where peo­ple strug­gle to man­age lifestyle-depen­dent dis­eases like hypertension.

Russ’ pas­sions don’t end there though. He is also an ama­teur astronomer: show him a dark sky (like the ones at Lan­dis), and he can read it like a book. Russ also knows the val­ue — and the joy — of phys­i­cal exer­tion. He loves to golf, and he has run the Boston Marathon as well as a num­ber of 10Ks and mini-marathons. But pushed to make a choice among his ath­let­ic pur­suits, he’d choose ice hock­ey in a heart­beat. Russ is in a hock­ey league in the Cap­i­tal Region and prac­tices a cou­ple of times a week when the rinks are iced.

Russ dis­cov­ered Lan­dis Arbore­tum through Board Pres­i­dent Jim Paley. Russ and Jim became friends in the fourth grade and have remained close ever since. Russ likes to make Jim’s vaca­tion home in Thai­land a win­ter stop in his per­am­bu­la­tions around the globe. (Trav­el is anoth­er pas­sion.) His dis­cus­sions with Jim about find­ing ways to extend access to Lan­dis for peo­ple with lim­it­ed mobil­i­ty con­vinced him to donate a golf cart to the Arbore­tum. Since then, he has giv­en a sec­ond golf cart, which has not only allowed more access for some Arbore­tum vis­i­tors, but also has made it pos­si­ble for Native Plant Trail Cura­tor Ed Miller, now in his 90s, to tend and expand his Trail with less exertion.

A for­tu­nate friend­ship, then, between Jim Paley and Russ Newkirk, and oth­ers have ben­e­fit­ed from their mutu­al ded­i­ca­tion to Landis.


Fall 2015

Volume 33 , Number 4

Share this

The Latest from Landis

Mar 14, 2023

Picturing Landis through the year

Scenic Landis Arboretum just begs to be captured by photographers, professionals and amateurs alike. Enjoy... read more

Mar 14, 2023

2022 Annual Report

View or Download read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Nolan Marciniec

Re-thinking Garden Pests

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything... read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Fred Lape, founder of the George Landis Arboretum

Barn Swallows

In this poem, Arboretum founder Fred Lape calls our attention to the “commonplace” miracle of... read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Anita Sanchez

Things Are Looking Up

Tree canopy -- Anita Sanchez Long ago I worked at a nature center, leading walks... read more

Mar 14, 2023 | Laurie Freeman

S-L-O-W Birding: A Primer for Beginners

Are you considering birding? Perhaps you’ve heard that birding is a great way to enjoy... read more

News Archive