WORCESTER- There was serious business to be conducted in Scotland at a Wyman-Gordon board of directors meeting a few years back, but Russell E. Fuller had something else on his mind.
He and fellow board member Warner S. Fletcher, a Worcester lawyer, had a full day to themselves and no agenda. And there was a golf course surrounding the hotel in which they were staying.
Despite the fact that both were without golf clubs or, for that matter, appropriate golf attire, Mr. Fuller was undeterred. He suggested that they rent clubs, take off their ties, roll up their sleeves and deal with the fact that the loafers they were wearing would have to suffice as golf shoes.
For Mr. Fletcher, it was as memorable a day as he has had.
"He was up for it," he said of Mr. Fuller, an avid golfer who was a member and former president of Worcester Country Club. "I will absolutely miss him so much."
Mr. Fuller, 77, of 93 Briarwood Circle, died yesterday at UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus, leaving behind a legacy of philanthropic giving that touched virtually every sector of Worcester life.
"He would always say, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad,'" said Evan C. Page, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Worcester. The Fuller stamp is in evidence behind the Worcester downtown branch of the Y in the form of a park paid for by the Fuller Foundation.
"I think that's the kind of life he led every day. He believed in community and family and all those good things. He'll be really deeply missed," Mr. Page said.
In a world in which so many just look for a way to say no, the people who knew Mr. Fuller best say he was always looking for a way to say yes. His refreshing enthusiasm and eagerness to help, they say, will be missed.
"His operative approach was, "Is there a way we can help this organization do x, y and z?'" Mr. Fletcher said.
"He was unbelievably upbeat and had a great sense of humor," he said. "Every time you saw him, his last words were, "Keep smiling.' So we'll all try to keep smiling, but it's going to be tough."
As chairman of the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation, Mr. Fuller would say he preferred to "become involved quietly, without a lot of fanfare."
But that did not prevent the Telegram & Gazette from bestowing its Isaiah Thomas Citizenship Award on him in 2002. The award is presented to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to society during the previous year, or for continued service over a longer period of time.
It was an award he could have won in any year.
He joined the board of the Fuller Foundation in 1970 and became chairman in 1988. The Fuller Foundation was established in 1955 by Mr. Fuller's great-uncle, George F. Fuller, with his wife, Sybil. Its primary goal is to assist local efforts in education, culture, history, health care and youth, as well as religious organizations, social agencies and schools.
"What a leader he was in the way he dealt with people, no matter who they were," said Ann T. Lisi, executive director of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. "I think he truly had fun and got great joy in his role as a trustee of the Fuller Foundation."
"He just loved it, and I think he instilled that joy into his fellow trustees," she said. "Many organizations in Worcester will miss his personal involvement."
Mr. Fuller leaves his wife of 58 years, Joyce I. (Adams) Fuller; two sons, Lincoln E. Fuller of New London, N.H., and Mark W. Fuller of Boylston; a brother, Wesley M. Fuller of St. Petersburg, Fla.; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Mr. Fuller was born in Worcester, son of Ernest M. and Hazel L. (Durell) Fuller, and lived in this area all his life. He was a graduate of North High School.
In 1959, he and his wife Joyce founded REFCO Inc., a specialty supply company in Boylston for which Mr. Fuller served as president for 39 years.
Mr. Fuller served in the Army during World War II, sang in the church choir, coached and umpired Little League and served as a selectman in his town of Boylston.
He was a member of the First Congregational Church of Boylston, where he served as a deacon, trustee, Sunday school teacher and superintendent as well as being a member of the church choir. Mr. Fuller was a former tenor soloist at Old South Congregational Church of Worcester.
He served on the boards of Nichols College and the former Central New England College as well as The Memorial and UMass Memorial hospitals and the UMass Memorial Foundation. He was a trustee of Tower Hill Botanic Gardens.
Mr. Fuller held honorary degrees from Assumption and Central New England colleges. He was a member of Boylston Lodge of Masons.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, in First Congregational Church, 10 Church St., Boylston. Private burial will be in Pine Grove Cemetery, Boylston, at the convenience of the family. Calling hours are 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 23, in Nordgren Memorial Chapel (NordgrenMemorialChapel.com), 300 Lincoln St. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church Memorial Fund, 10 Church St., Boylston, MA 01505, or Tower Hill Botanic Gardens, 11 French Drive, Boylston, MA 01505.