He leaves behind wife Muriel Letcher-Nash, children Kathryn and Heather and grandchildren Zachary, Matthew, Victoria, Zoe and Seth.
He was born on September 27, 1935, to Kenneth and Doris Little of Hatley, Quebec.
Russell graduated from McDonald College in 1957, and continued the family legacy of dairy farming on the land settled by his United Empire Loyalist ancestors around 1800. He married Diane Whiteman, a nurse from Thunder Bay, Ontario, and they raised three children: Kathryn, Heather and Michael.
Russell locally participated in Cornwall Seniors cribbage, was a past President for the North Hatley Curling Club, and a Mason in Friendship Lodge #66 (North Hatley) for 65 years. He grew prodigious amounts of blackberries and loved animals. Russell was always was humming a tune, Oklahoma being his favorite
musical. He could still fully recite Longfellow’s poem "I shot an arrow into the air.” Russell was a quiet man who often used the term "Oh-ho" to mean so many things, and yet was always understood.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Diane, and son Michael.
A memorial service will be held in Hatley in the summer of 2026. Interment will be at the Hatley United Church Cemetery.
Arrangements under the care and direction of Lahaie and Sullivan West Branch 20 Seventh Street W, Cornwall, ON.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cornwall Community Hospital Foundation.
