Greenbank is reeling from the loss of one its own this week.

Glen Russell, a well-known artist, unexpectedly died in his sleep Monday, July 19, at his home off Day Road. Although his exact cause of death is unknown, Russell, 64, is believed to have died from heart complications.

He leaves behind his wife Jan, his daughter Beth, and his two sons, Ben and Dan.

The unexpected loss has hit many in the community hard.

“The phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” said Russell’s oldest son, Ben.

Russell was not only known as a master wood carver — his work decorates businesses and public buildings throughout Central and South Whidbey — but he was at the center of many issues of community importance over the 36 years he lived in Greenbank.

He was most recently involved in a dispute over a beach access at the end of Wonn Road, just east of Greenbank Farm. Russell led the charge against property owner Bruce Montgomery, who built a wall at the end of the road to block people from accessing the beach.

His efforts resulted in the creation of the Save our Beaches organization, and the Island County commissioners voting in March of 2009 to take Montgomery to court. More than one year later, the board has yet to file suit.

But while official action continues to stall, the head of Wonn Road was decorated with flowers and a note that read, “In memory of Glen Russell. Long live the Greenbank Beach Road,” just days after his death.

Although the Russell family said they didn’t know who placed the memorial at Wonn Road, the person responsible was later identified as Mary Coupe. Coupe, along with her husband Tom, ran the Greenbank Store for decades and knew Russell well.

“He was a very brave person to step out the way he did; he was a man of principle,” Coupe said.

He was also very distinctive. Russell drove a modified convertible 1950s model MG. While the car garnered plenty of stares by itself, he often had strapped to the top a huge canoe with “Save our Beaches” painted on the side.

“He was a bit eccentric,” laughed Russell’s youngest son, Dan.

The MG was the first car he ever bought. And although he once told a family member that he preferred to keep a “low profile” he drove the eye-catching historic car everywhere he went.

“We’d laugh and say, ‘There goes Mr. Low Profile,’” Dan said.

Russell, a Vietnam veteran, moved to Greenbank with his wife Jan in 1974. He spent time working as a salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, but was best known for his art. Primarily a wood carver, Russell created signs for Langley Drug, Ken’s Korner Shopping Plaza, Hedgebrook, Harbor Center, the Greenbank Store and Linds Pharmacy to name just a few.

“Since we moved here, he’s always supported his family with his own two hands,” Jan said.

Some of his best known pieces are the doors of the Island County Historical Society in Coupeville, and the mural in the lobby of Whidbey General Hospital. Russell was just putting the final touches on his final piece, an arch that will span the entrance to the children’s room in the Coupeville Library, when he died.

Although the span was not totally complete, library officials and the Russell family agree that it should installed anyway.

“I am so sorry he will not be able to see his work installed,” said Jeanne Crisp, the project director for Sno-Isle Libraries. “The piece is stunning in photographs and I’m sure viewers will be delighted with the piece.”

Although none of Russell’s children plan to pick up the chisel themselves, Dan said he plans to continue to fight for the beach access at Wonn Road.

“The function that my dad did for the community was that he was always paying attention,” Dan said. “We’re going to continue that.”