M. Russell Leslie Jr. ’58
M. Russell Leslie Jr. ’58, M.D., passed away November 23, 2024. Growing up in Brentwood, Pennsylvania, Russ overcame childhood polio and went on to captain his high school teams in football, basketball, and tennis. As a premed at Dartmouth, he majored in biology, was Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and active in student government (class president and vice president, Green Key, Palaeopitus, Undergraduate Council, and Honor System Committee). After medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, Russ served as a captain in the Army Medical Service Corps at Fort McClellan in Alabama, then completed an orthopedic residency and hand surgical fellowship. He returned to Pittsburgh to practice orthopedics, focusing on hand surgery and sports medicine. Russ taught at the University of Pittsburgh for 30 years and was team physician for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Pittsburgh Ballet, and the Pitt football team (national college champion in 1976). He was an active sailor and had a deep love of golf. A friend commented that Russ was also “a consummate storyteller whose tales, whether about the operating room, sailing adventures, or family lore, captivated listeners of all ages and connected generations.” Russ’s wife, Virginia, predeceased him; he is survived by two sons, two daughters, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
