RUSSELL JAMES BAITON
Posted: December 15th, 2021
1959 ~ 2021
We are saddened by the passing of our much-loved brother Russell James Baiton (Rusty) on November 23, 2021, at the age of 62 years in Lethbridge Alberta. He was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and raised in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Left to cherish his memory is his son John and daughter Silva. Rusty is survived by his brothers and sisters, Richard Baiton (Ellen), Roxanne Harkness (Scott), Hope Fairbrother (Blaine), Darcy Baiton, Mikhaela Jennings (Dan), and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles and special bonds with cousins and many good friends. Rusty is predeceased by his parents John and Johanna Baiton. Rusty worked in the oil fields for years and continued post-secondary education at the Concordia University in Montreal and then earned his master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Lethbridge. He also worked as a tutor and taught writing and English in Lethbridge. Rusty was good-natured and was well liked by everyone who knew him and loved a good laugh. He would reminisce and laugh with his brothers for hours on their misadventures of their youth. He was very interested in people and their stories and was an articulate conversationalist. He kept close to his family and loved visiting with friends and his cousins. He was a humble, sensitive and gentle person and worked hard in providing for his family. He was very proud of his children John and Silva and often talked of their exceptional interests, accomplishments and academic pursuits fostered by their parents. Rusty had a passion for learning and a quest for knowledge and was very well read. He had many interests including music, the guitar and mandolin, wrote poems and stories and was interested in genealogy. He loved his motorbike and took amazing bike trips with friends throughout his life.
Rusty will be forever in our hearts.
“The memory of a good person is a blessing”. Proverbs 10:7.
A family Celebration of his Life will be in the spring of 2022.
I was shocked by Russell Baiton’s passing. We met in our group, “We The People YQL,” calling into question officialdom’s handling of the manufactured COVID crisis. Every Saturday we gathered at Japanese Gardens on Mayor Magrath Drive and displayed signs pointing to the wrongheadedness of government actions like mandating dangerous untested injections. Most Saturdays Russell’s son, John joined us. Russ and he took great interest is examining the responses of motorists inside their cars. We often discussed literature and critical perspectives of the University of Lethbridge in which we had both been deeply involved.Russell raised some controversy with his feisty poems which he circulated to some members of our group. I visited Russell on his new condo in Nov.21 and he was in an excellent frame of mind embarking on a major project which we had planned together. All systems seemed to be go as he dug into the work with gusto. He lent me Robert F. Kennedy’s new book highlighting the the criminal activity of Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates in cooking up the current fiasco which has more to do with a power grab than public health. I hope to be included in the celebration of his very fine life, a life that intertwined closely with my own throughout the final months of his time on Earth. I really miss Russ and feel somewhat lost without him nearby and ready to talk about all kinds of things at a moment’s notice. I send my condolences to his family. You all must be struck hard by the magnitude of our loss. Russ was a very upstanding man of wit and great intelligence.
I was saddened to learn of Russ’s passing. We met in early October 2021, so I barely knew him but I enjoyed conversing with him and could sense that he had a very good heart. We had some email correspondence wherein we shared some of our writing and I learned that he was a great writer and a very imaginative person. It’s too bad the world is without him but alas, all good things must come to an end. I offer my heartfelt condolences to all of his family and friends and trust that they will keep his spirit alive in their minds and hearts.
Sincerely,
Nick Shearer