Russ Montney was one of the most significant Alan Wilson scholars of modern times. He was born on September 10 (Rosh Hashanah) in 1953, and passed away suddenly on October 22, 2010, on a full moon. Known to his friends as a kind, generous man, Russ was also a man of keen intellect, which he applied to the study of Alan Wilson’s life and music.

In February 2010, Russ created his first major accomplishment in the realm of Alan Wilson scholarship. This was the blindowl.ch website, an extensive documentation of every existing Alan Wilson link on the Internet.Due in large part to efforts by Russ, the First Annual Alanological Conference was held in May 2010. Russ also created many YouTube videos of previously unheard Alan material, as well as the first-ever calendar of Alan Wilson history, a glossary of Alan-related terminology, charts and graphs documenting musical keys and other details of Alan Wilson songs, and an indexing of the Blind Owl Blues book, among many other projects he was working on up to the time of his death.

In addition to his work in the field of Alan Wilson scholarship, Russ was also learned in areas of theology, philosophy, and Biblical scholarship. He was a champion chess player, actor, guitarist, and bassist, and had worked in a number of professional fields ranging from culinary work to youth corrections. He is survived by his wife, Sue, and two sons, and is remembered with love by an extended family and vast network of friends around the country. We honor his many accomplishments, with special thanks for his dedication to the music of Alan Wilson.

- Rebecca Davis