Russell Edmund Swartz, 87, of Edgartown and Bonita Springs, Fla., passed away peacefully on Feb. 28, 2026, following a brief illness. He was also known as “Russ,” “Rusty,” and affectionately known as “P” (for Grampy) to his grandchildren.
Russell was born in Oak Bluffs on March 26, 1938, to William and Ida Swartz, and grew up in Vineyard Haven. He graduated from Tisbury High School in 1955, and went on to earn his associate’s degree in small engine repair from the Franklin Institute in Boston. He was drafted into the Army on Sept. 18, 1961. He served two years’ active duty, primarily as a weapons specialist in Germany, or as he described it, “guarding the wall,” and two years in the Army Reserves.
In 1965, Russell met his future wife, Joyce (“Jay”) Johnson. They married on Dec. 2, 1967, in New Hampshire, and spent 58 wonderful, very happily married years together. They had a daughter, Amy, in 1973, and he gained a sidekick who would go anywhere and do anything with him.
Russell worked for Carroll Trucking, the Cape & Vineyard, and Machine and Marine before opening Island Repair Service in 1975, where he repaired cars, boats, and anything else the neighborhood boys brought over. There he became the “master mechanic” of Martha’s Vineyard. On any given day, he could be found in “the shop” in his coveralls, whistling while he worked, and surrounded by friends who stopped by to say hello throughout the day. He sold the shop in 1996, and continued to work at Tashmoo Boatyard for many years, until he retired and spent his time with his family and friends, out on his boat, the Amy, in Tashmoo, and working in his garage at home in Edgartown.
When Amy married Greg Ellrodt in 2006, Russell gained a son, and they bonded over their shared humor and love of building and fixing things, spending many hours in his garage together. Amy and Greg have two children, Charles William (“Charlie”), born in 2008, and Lily Joyce, born in 2011, who were the apples of Russell’s eye. He spent all the time he could with them, planting raspberries for them, taking them fishing, teaching them how to drive a golf cart, sharing with them his love of animals (except skunks) and birds (especially hummingbirds), and spending endless hours playing with them, and patiently building and fixing and tinkering with things with them by his side.
Russell was predeceased by his parents, William Joseph Swartz and Ida Silva Swartz, as well as by his sister, Barbara, and brother, Caton, who both died in childhood. He is survived by his loving wife, Joyce Swartz; his daughter, Amy Ellrodt, and her husband, Greg; his nieces and nephews, and his grandchildren, Charlie and Lily, who were the light of his life.
Russell lived his life to the fullest, with humor, patience, and kindness, and he will be missed by many. A memorial service is planned in the spring or summer of 2026 on Martha’s Vineyard.
