CORAL SPRINGS, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — They stopped the rigs in front of Station 64. Lights flashing, no sound. Just stillness.
Russell “Russ” Donovan got his last ride home Friday.
He was one of the 13 who built the Coral Springs Fire Department from nothing in 1971. No big trucks then. Just a pickup with rails and a ladder. He was 36. He stayed on until 1997.
He served as chief from 1977 to 1981. Spent 30, sometimes 40 hours a week volunteering. Didn’t take a dime.
The route from Mass to the cemetery paused at Station 64 — the one named for him. The city dedicated it last year for the work he did decades earlier to get the first one funded.
He and his wife, Ellen, called Coral Springs home for more than 50 years. Raised three kids here. He liked fishing offshore, playing a little tennis, traveling. Showed up for every dinner dance the department ever had.
“Rest in peace, Chief Donovan,” the department said in a public post. “Your legacy of service and commitment to the Coral Springs community will never be forgotten.”
The family asked that donations go to the Coral Springs Firefighter Benevolent Association.
