Mary Etta Russell

After 98 years of life, we lost Mary Etta Rowe Russell on November 16th, 2021. She passed away the very same day as her husband did 5 years ago, when he was 97. Her daughter and her husband were born on the same day and her second daughter was born the day after. All of these dates lie in the month of November. We can’t help but think she got a kick out of this and clearly had a talent for timing.

Mary was a WWII veteran, a nurse, a wife, a mother and a grandma. She was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma but spent the majority of her life in Placentia, California. After she retired from nursing at 79 years, she was a docent at the Nixon Library for another seven years. She was married to her husband, Ted Russell for 71 years. They met in Long Beach in 1944 while both in the Navy. Together they had two daughters, three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Mary loved her soap operas, romance novels, knitting, traveling to Hawaii, cruise ships, African Violets and card games. She loved Danielle Steele novels, owning and reading all of them. Making her laugh was always a rewarding challenge because when it was accomplished, she had the most infectious laugh.

Mary was generous, caring, hard-working, independent, loyal, physically resilient and protective of her family. She could also be stoic, blunt, feisty and blatantly honest. If you did not want to hear the truth, then you simply did not ask. She was NOT a keeper of secrets so if you had anything to share, just know it would be shared in return. That’s just how it was. She didn’t mess around and you DID NOT mess with her.

Mary was a strong woman with infrastructure of steel. Her more serious nature was tempered with a propensity to topple over. She was no stranger to a few cuts or bruises but she broke only one bone way back in her younger years.

As devastating as it is to lose her, the family is happy Mary can now be reunited with her husband in heaven. The last five years have not been easy for her and she has missed him everyday. She will be buried in Riverside National Cemetery alongside Ted. They lived a beautiful life together full of travel, adventures, friends and family.