Velma Beeman says she got the call while in church.
"It was expected, because I had been forewarned by one of his friends that he was having a bad time," Beeman says.
Former U.S. Arlen Spector was her classmate and high school friend. He died Sunday at age 82 after a battle with cancer.
Specter and his family lived in a small house on Elm Street in the 1940s. They moved to Russell from Wichita when he was 12. His father while in the oil business, as the young Arlen became a champion high school debater. Specter graduated from Russell High School in 1947.
Russell County's historical museum has an exhibit honoring Specter and fellow native son, Bob Dole.
"Russell was very proud to have two senators run for the president at the same time," local historian Aldean Banker says. "He kept his ties with Russell, and I know he kept in contact with people."
He kept in touch in the course of a life that included not only serving as Pennsylvania senator and running for president, but also authoring the single-bullet theory in the JFK death investigation. Friends say Specter always made time for his friends in Russell.
"We just kept in touch," Beeman says. "He's come back for every reuinion, and we've talked on the phone."
While he's now gone, people in Russell say Arlen Specter will forever maintain a prominent place in Russell's history, along with his former senate colleague, Bob Dole.
