Adele Marie Bissonnette Russell

Beloved wife, mother, grand- and great-grandmother Adele Marie (Bissonnette) Russell, 93, quietly left us on January 2, 2015. She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 25, 1921, to Emelie Mary (Beaudoin) and William Charles Bissonnette. Adele’s survivors include her husband of 72 years, Patrick Edward Russell, (CDR USN Ret.), 96, and their six children, Carol Hartzell, Patrick W. Russell (Sharon), Michele Christopher, Tom Russell (Deneen), Mary Clements (Chuck), Steve Russell (Cher), 18 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

In 1939, Adele graduated from Washburn High, Minneapolis, attended Saint Catherine’s College, and then worked for Honeywell and the Veterans Administration. Adele and Patrick married in 1943. As her aviator husband’s career took the family to Navy bases throughout the world, Adele was the anchor, tirelessly raising their children. Adele loved to dance and play piano, and took a few art lessons, prodigiously creating several remarkably beautiful oil paintings.

When they moved to McLean, Virginia, in 1961, the Russells joined St. John’s Catholic Church and school. Adele volunteered at the school, at the church thrift shop, and delivered Meals on Wheels in the McLean area. She patiently taught her daughters how to sew their own clothes and her sons how to be gentlemen. She was a polite and pleasant conversationalist, but those who loved her remember most hearing her say, “Can I help you?”