Hannah Lincoln Russell

Born on April 22, 1929 in Portland, Maine to George and Dorothy Talbot, she was pre-deceased by her beloved husband John J Russell in 1991.

Her childhood was spent learning handicraft from her mother, grandmother and great-aunts, developing her love of drawing, working at Thornhurst Dairy Farm and sailing on Casco Bay with her friends Jane Moody and Nancy Allen.

After graduating from Waynflete School in Portland in 1947, she attended the School of The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to further study drawing and painting. Upon retuning to Portland she married John Russell at the Episcopal Church of Saint Mary, which would become her “second family”. Her love of nature and all things horticultural became a passion that would be shared with and instilled in those she loved. Her beautiful flower gardens, award winning flower arrangements, craft projects, handmade Christmas ornaments, drawings and paintings reflected her appreciation and respect for the simple beauty that can be found in nature. An accomplished artist of multiple mediums, she took great joy sharing this passion in fellowship with others in the community creating works of art and crafts.

She was a stickler for detail when it came to any project, large or small. Together she and John built two one twelfth scale model dollhouses of the white clapboard historic Georgian style Deacon Bailey House in the Stroudwater area of Portland. Her attention to authenticity and detail of the house and its furnishings, from painting the Rufus Porter front hall mural in miniature to splitting blades of grass to weave the cane seats of chairs, is why one of these two dollhouses resides in the Maine Historical Society Museum (object # 1994.115).

Following in her family’s footsteps she was an active volunteer in many community organizations including: decades of service working in the Flower Box at Maine Medical Center, the Falmouth Historical Society, the Maine Historical Society, the Longfellow House, the Victoria Mansion and the Falmouth Rescue Team. As a nearly lifelong congregant of The Episcopal Church of Saint Mary in Falmouth, Maine, she began her service to the church as a teenager by creating multiple beautiful pen and ink drawings of the church that were use on church bulletins and publications for decades. In her adult years she served on many guilds including the Altar Flower Guild, Memorial Reception, Buildings & Grounds, Vestry and co-chair of the Legacy Capital Campaign. Those who knew her well would agree that her most beloved project and greatest artistic achievement was her involvement with the Kneeler Guild. This group first met in 1976 to plan the ambitious project of creating needlepoint kneelers with artwork that would represent key passages from the Old and New Testaments. The small group slowly grew in number by meeting one night a week for many years. The actual stitching began in 1979 and the first kneelers were dedicated in 1980. Hannah would interpret the biblical passage into a colored drawing to determine the colors of the wool yarn to be used then paint the design onto the needlepoint canvas for others to stitch. She was responsible for 159 designs of which 154 were used for the kneelers, the last canvas being created/painted just a few years ago and currently in production. There was no diminution of enthusiasm for this herculean project largely due to her passion and leadership.

Hannah was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to her seven great-grandchildren. She is survived by her son Nathaniel and his wife Lynn Powers of Brooklyn New York and his children Seth and Rebecca Russell; her son Benjamin and his wife Nancy of Scarborough and their children Jessica Kenlan, Kate Woodworth, Sarah Maurer, and Jonathan Russell and her son Stephen of Falmouth and his children Sadie and Ella Russell.

A Celebration of Life and Interment will be scheduled for some time in the Spring…her favorite time of the year when flowers are blooming and everything is green again.

You may offer your condolences and share your memories at www.jonesrichandbarnes.com

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to support the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church of Saint Mary, 43 Foreside Rd, Falmouth, Maine 04105 ([email protected])