Probably only a few of you on this forum knew Russ Holshouser, a very prominent mineral collector who lived near Hillsborough and who specialized in NC minerals.  His collection is truly outstanding.  His health had been deteriorating in the last few years, and I was heartbroken to see him in a wheelchair at the Grassy Creek show last year.  I was so saddened to hear today that he has passed away.  Russ was a really great guy who had a deep passion for North Carolina minerals.  He used to be a regular at all the shows, swaps, and field trips, but was increasingly unable to field collect as he got older.  He will be missed.  So many of us "old timers" are falling by the wayside, and it's very sad because a huge amount of knowledge is lost that many younger collectors have no clue about.  Russ was a giant in the NC collector community and all of us that knew him will miss his unbridled enthusiasm for minerals, especially those from NC.  Rest in peace dear friend.

I never met Russ, but I'm saddened to hear that he passed away.  I'm in the "old timers club", too, and will try to continue to impart info about my collection and experiences.

I think RHL is a great forum to do that. 

Dennis