Kay Smith Russ

Kay Smith Russ, née Kay Lynne Smith, born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 20, 1934, the only child of George Washington Smith and Edna Johnson Smith, of Missouri, died on October 4, 2014, at home. Salutatorian of her high school class at Detroit’s Southwestern High School, she attended the University of Michigan on a full scholarship. At Michigan, she met Warren Kenneth Russ, Jr., of Delanco, New Jersey, and the two were married upon his graduation in 1954. The couple eventually moved to New Jersey, where they raised their four children. Kay finished her education at Rutgers University and Kean College, and then for nearly two decades served as a teacher in the Piscataway Township school system. Kay and Warren moved to Advance Mills, Virginia, in 1988, where for many years Kay continued to work as a substitute teacher in the Albemarle and Greene County School systems. Kay was a gifted middle school teacher with a knack for helping troubled adolescents. Her hobbies included sewing, gardening, cooking and canning, and working with stained-glass. She was cherished among her children and grandchildren for her inspired Halloween costumes and creative birthday cakes. She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Warren Kenneth Russ, Jr., her four children, Lisa Russ Spaar of Charlottesville, Virginia, Judith Habasevich of Tampa, Florida, Kyle Horton of Dacula, Georgia, and David Russ of Athens, Ohio. She and Warren have eight cherished grandchildren, a daughter- and two sons-in-law, and a host of and nieces and nephews. The family asks that any contributions be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300?Charlottesville, VA 22911. The family will hold a private memorial service.