Russell Dickenson, former national parks chief, dies

Published 6:00 pm, Saturday, March 1, 2008

Russell Dickenson, who started his career as a ranger and worked his way up to run the National Park Service for five years in the early 1980s, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 84.

Dickenson died Feb. 19 in his home in Bellevue, a suburb east of Seattle.

Born in Melissa, Texas, Dickenson graduated from Northern Arizona University and served four years in the Marine Corp before joining the Park Service in 1946, beginning his career at the Grand Canyon National Park.

He spent decades in the field before becoming the agency's deputy director in 1973. He took over the Pacific Northwest's regional office in 1975, then became national director of the Park Service in 1980.

"Russ was a consumate park professional," said Gary Everhardt, head of the National Park Service during the Ford administration. "He was highly respected by his associates and very familiar with the political system and the people on the (Capitol) Hill."

Of all the parks he worked in, Dickenson told his daughter, Vivian Barber, his favorite was Washington state's North Cascades, because of its rugged, wild mountain scenery.

Dickenson retired as the Park Service's national director in 1985 and worked as a professor in the University of Washington's College of Forest Resources.

He served on the National Park Advisory Board, was president of the Washington National Parks Fund and served on several boards, including the North Cascade Institute.

In addition to his daughter, Dickenson is survived by his wife, Ollie Maxine Dickenson; brothers, James and Edwin; son, Russell; four grandchildren and a great-grandson.