Beloved RVC teacher remembered

Over his 50-year career in the Rockville Centre School District, Russell Reid touched the lives of an estimated 10,000 students at South Side middle and high schools.

Reid, who died on March 15 at age 73, after a second battle with cancer, became a much-admired fixture in the community. He is remembered by many for his years of teaching English; coaching golf, basketball and football; and producing the high school’s theater programs.

“He was always a teacher,” Russell’s wife, Maureen, said. “He was a teacher whether he was in the classroom, in the arenas of athletic competition or with a drill and paintbrush in his hand on the South Side stage.”

Reid was born in Jamaica, Queens on March 17, 1948, and graduated from Chaminade high School in 1966. He earned a bachelor’s degree and, in 1984, a master’s from Hofstra University. He was well-versed in the plays of Shakespeare, the works of 20th century American writers and the offensive strategies of the New York Jets.

Over the course of five decades in village schools, Reid took on a wide variety of roles. He taught English, Theory of Knowledge and Play Production while also coaching and using his carpentry skills to produce stage scenery.

His wake, at Macken Mortuary on March 17, and his funeral Mass, at St. Agnes Cathedral the following day, on March 18, drew hundreds of his family members, friends and former students and colleagues. Generations of people who knew Reid took to social media to recount their experiences with him as a teacher, coach, mentor or friend.

“At a time when it was not so common for one to be so versatile, Coach Reid showed us that you can be whatever you want to be,” Mark Albarano, who was a student and football player under Reid in 1985 and 1986, wrote. “From a coach to an English teacher to devoting himself in the performing arts, he was legendary.”

Nils Bosch, who played on the Cyclones’ 1998 county championship-winning basketball team, got to see Reid’s dedication to his students and players firsthand. “He had the ability to say, ‘I believe in you, and you can accomplish anything’ with his actions more than his words,” Bosch wrote. “His leadership inspired many of us to become leaders and coaches in our own lives. South Side was a special place because of people like him.”

SSHS Principal John Murphy lauded Reid for his dedication. “He was involved in every single facet of the building,” Murphy said. “When someone is such an integral part of the fabric, the shock because we love him is one thing, but the place is just missing something.”

Reid defied expectations some might have of a hard-nosed football and basketball coach with his love of the theater. He led field trips to London where he and students traversed the city and watched stage productions. Reid jokingly bragged that he never lost a student, according to Maureen. Rockville Centre Deputy Mayor Kathy Baxley, whom Reid taught at the high school, recalled when her daughter went on a London trip in 2016. Reid organized it, but couldn’t go. While there, the students took a group photo and sent it to him. As a surprise, Reid made copies of the photo and mailed one to each student’s home as a gift.

Maureen started a GoFundMe page recently, with the hope of launching the Russ Reid Memorial Scholarship. The effort had generated more than $27,000 at press time.

In addition to his wife, Reid is survived by a brother, Rolaine Stephens, of Floral Park; a sister, Alison Phillips, of Fly Creek, N.Y.; sons Michael, Scott and Brian; granddaughters Bridget, Caitlin, Maeve and Kelly; and many nieces and nephews. His granddaughters affectionately referred to Reid as the “candy man,” because he brought them treats whenever he visited.

Reid was honored by the Rockville Centre Education Foundation with the Ruth Finns Memorial Education Award at its gala in 2002. The foundation provides financial support for school programs that reach beyond normal curriculum.

“It was all about the kids,” Reid said in his acceptance speech that night. It was the motto that those who knew him say drove him every day in the classroom and beyond.