Russell Monteith Coombs, Esquire, 84, whose life and career were dually defined
by devotion to family and passion for the law, died at home on June 5, 2022, of liver and
kidney failure, with loved ones at his side.
A serious and driven intellectual perfectionist, Mr. Coombs excelled academically,
and in a career spanning more than 50 years, left an indelible imprint on the Pennsylvania
and national legal landscapes, and on the Rutgers University Law School students he
taught for more than 30 years.
In a diverse and remarkable career, Mr. Coombs developed extensive expertise in
criminal law, organized crime, and the challenges posed by interstate child custody
disputes and parental kidnapping. Early in his career Mr. Coombs was an associate at
Choate, Hall, & Stewart in Boston, Massachusetts; an Assistant Attorney General of
Massachusetts; and then Assistant Counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Criminal
Laws and Procedures. In the latter role, he worked with G. Robert Blakey, Esquire and
others on drafting the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, which included the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Mr. Coombs also drafted the
Pennsylvania Corrupt Organizations Act and served as an informal consultant on that law
to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
From 1970 to 1972, Mr. Coombs was Chief Counsel to the Pennsylvania Crime
Commission, an entity then investigating organized crime and official corruption in the
Commonwealth. Subsequently, Mr. Coombs worked for his father’s law firm in Wichita,
Kansas. He returned to the Senate Criminal Laws and Procedures Subcommittee in 1977
as its Deputy Chief Counsel, in which role he conceived and was principal draftsman of
the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980 (“PKPA”) and testified before
the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in support of the PKPA.
In 1979, Mr. Coombs joined the faculty of Rutgers Law School, and in 1982 was
promoted to tenured Associate Professor. At Rutgers, Mr. Coombs taught courses on
evidence, criminal procedure, children and the law, and designed and taught seminars on
interstate child custody litigation and organized crime. He authored numerous law review
articles and practitioner presentations regarding the PKPA, interstate child custody,
organized crime, evidence, and sentencing law, and provided expert commentary on these
and other subjects to various publications, including the Philadelphia Inquirer and the
New York Times. Mr. Coombs retired from Rutgers Law School in 2014, assuming the
title of Professor Emeritus.
In his personal life, Mr. Coombs shed the solemnity of his professional persona,
but pursued his non-work interests with equal gusto and competitiveness, albeit with a lot
more spontaneity and hilarity. Truth be told, Mr. Coombs was more than good at every
activity he found challenging. He loved golf from an early age, ultimately earning a spot
on Stanford University’s renowned golf team in the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons, and in
later life, becoming a decades-long member and standout golfer of Overbrook Golf Club.
Although he had other wins along the way, the pinnacle of Mr. Coombs’s senior golf
career came in 1999, when he and Overbrook Pro Stu Ingraham won the Pro Senior-Am
Scratch championship by five strokes.
Mr. Coombs also mastered skiing (and was also darn good at pocket billiards and
chess). Beginning in the 1970s, he worked for more than 30 years as a part-time ski
instructor with the Rocky Mountain Ski Instructor’s Association, teaching children as a
Director of the Sandia Park Kinder Ski School and, in later life, at Keystone Ski Resort in
Colorado. While a law professor at Rutgers, Mr. Coombs took periodic sabbaticals to
winter in Dillon, Colorado, spending time with his beloved wife Rosalie Bradley Coombs
(“Rosie”), teaching skiing, and welcoming friends and family to share the beauty of the
Rockies. He also joined his sons on back-county heli-skiing trips and enjoyed many
national and international adventure trips with Rosie.
Above all, Mr. Coombs excelled at unconditional love for his family. For
decades, he surpassed Hallmark with homemade, wickedly witty birthday and holiday
cards — meticulously drafted on yellow legal pads and carefully illustrated with stick
figure drawings. When his youngest son took an interest in ice hockey, Mr. Coombs was
his biggest fan, cheering his son on from youth hockey through college with such
unrelenting devotion that his son’s college teammates still recall Mr. Coombs’s many
phone calls to the “hockey house” and his unnecessary introduction (every time) that he
was “Russ Coombs, Jesse’s Dad.” His children, grandchildren, and other loved ones
have countless similar memories too numerous to recount.
Mr. Coombs was born April 18, 1938, in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of Eugene
Galen Coombs and Nancy Elizabeth Wilcox. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with
Great Distinction from Stanford University in 1961. At Stanford, he was a National
Merit Scholar, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a U.S. Navy ROTC Scholar, and was on the
Dean’s List every term. After serving his Navy ROTC commitment, Mr. Coombs
attended Harvard Law School, serving as President of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and
graduating cum laude with his juris doctor degree in 1966. On July 22, 1961, Mr.
Coombs married Virginia Anne Haynes, and the couple had three children, Sheila
Elizabeth, Thomas Pugh, and Jesse Leigh. The couple divorced in 1973.
After three decades of single life, Mr. Coombs began courting Rosie, taking her
out for nice meals but also testing her tolerance of his sense of humor by visiting her
office wearing a Big Bird costume, as a “mute singing telegram” deliverer and, on one
occasion, appearing in drag with a “tasteful” blue shift dress and pearls.
Rosie and Russ married on May 25, 1996. They then spent many years traveling together and enjoying
skiing, golf, vacations, and holiday time with their blended families. When Mr.
Coombs’s health began failing, Rosie lovingly cared for him through his last days.
Words are insufficient to fully acknowledge Rosie’s absolute devotion to Russ’s
wellbeing and quality of life. Rosie is cherished as a truly loved and invaluable part of
the Coombs family, which is profoundly grateful to “Saint Rosie” for all the joy, love,
and peace she gave to their Dad and Gramps.
Mr. Coombs is survived by his wife Rosalie Coombs, children Sheila E. Coombs
Branyan (Jack), Thomas P. Coombs (Theresa), Jesse L. Coombs (Catherine);
granddaughters, Jessica, Abigail, Katelyn, Kelsea, Eleanor, Adelaine, Sophia, and Maple;
grandsons Jason, Sean, Jake, and Callan; nephew John Coombs (Carol); niece Anne
Schreiber Dewey (Craig); stepson Larry; stepdaughter Anne; great-granddaughters
Gabriella, Harper, and Emma Rose; great-grandson Calvin; great-nephews Brian and
Bryson; great-niece Emma; and the many friends and colleagues who shared in his life
journey.
As a young lawyer, Mr. Coombs aspired to be a federal judge – not a pipedream
given his academic and professional accomplishments. In the final analysis, however, his
legacy is defined – in at least equal measure and without regret – by his impact on those
who knew and loved him.
A Celebration of Life luncheon will be held on Thursday, July 21, 2022, at 11:00
a.m. at Overbrook Golf Club, 799 Godfrey Road, Villanova, PA 19085. In lieu of
flowers, non-deductible contributions to assist Mr. Coombs’s twin granddaughters in
their lifelong fight against Neurofibromatosis Type 1 may be made electronically via:
Zelle® to SophiaAndAdelaineNF1Fund@gmail.com, or by check payable to Sophia
Coombs, mailed to Sophia & Adelaine Coombs, P.O. Box 2299, Corvallis, OR, 97339.
Arrangements are being handled by the Mount Laurel Home for Funerals, Mount Laurel,
NJ.
https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/russell-coombs-obituary-rutgers-counsel-crime-commission-20220712.html