Miss you my dear Cuz! Hope you’re sitting tight with the shit Eatin grin you were so famous for. 
RIp Vic

So, fast forward a few years…the night before Trish and I are getting married, I asked Vic if there was anything I should know about married life. And after a couple of jokes, he said, “Married life is full of ups and downs. Don’t make any big decisions during the down times. And if you work hard enough Bubba (he always called me that for some reason), if you work hard enough then every year will be better than the one before it.” And that has held true too. 
The last time I saw Vic was in November at a Thanksgiving meal at our mom’s house. Vic had been having some health problems for a while, but he still had that smile on his face—and he was so proud to show off his grandson, Branden. He said that he had been thinking of his mortality for the first time in his life—and while I didn’t think about this then…only after I received the news of his passing—I though back to something he said at our grandmother’s funeral. We were sitting in church in Durant at Granny Yates’ funeral. Vic was sitting in the row behind me, and the pastor read a note that Granny had written to her family, and I was sobbing. Vic reached up, put his hand on my shoulder and said, “It’s going to be okay. It won’t ever be the same, but it’s going to be okay. Take what you learned from her, live it, apply it, and remember her. If you do that, she’s always with you, she’s always a part of you.”
I thought about those words, and nothing could be more appropriate here and now than to hear Vic tell us… “It’s going to be okay. It won’t ever be the same, but it’s going to be okay.” So, let’s take what we learned from him, live it, apply it, and remember him. If we do that, Vic is always with us, and he will always be a part of us.


Victor, my brother, was 17 when I was born. I didn't get to grow up around him, but one thing that I recognized about him from an early age was that he almost always had a smile on his face. For a while, I thought the smile was probably because he was pulling a prank or a joke on someone (and he often was), but as I got older, I saw that Vic really loved life…and it showed on his face. Yes, he did love a good joke, and he made copious use of sarcasm, but even in the hard times, he had that same smile, a smile that put people at ease. It didn’t seem to matter whether Vic had known you for five minutes or for your entire life, he could find something in common with you -- whether it was motorcycles, cars, golf, bowling, a strong work ethic, or a steadfast devotion to family.
Vic loved his family—he and Missy were married for 35 years, which is a fantastic accomplishment. Together they raised a beautiful and talented daughter, Jayca, who is a teacher. The fact that she is a teacher shouldn’t surprise anyone though, because if you look at Vic’s life, while he was never a teacher by trade, he always taught everyone around him. He was constantly mentoring and training people at work, as well as advising and guiding those around him in how to treat others. 
When I was in high school, it was easy for me to talk with Vic about girls—he was my older brother after all – and he gave me great advice. I remember one time, I was around 15 at the time, which means he and Missy had been married around 10 years at that point, I asked him a question, and this is what he told me. He said, “A lot of people will tell you have a good time and date as many girls as you want, and I would have told you the same thing at your age…but I’ve got to tell you, if you find yourself dating somebody and you know you aren’t going to marry her, get out and get out quick.” That was good advice.


Victor was a brother to me at a time when I needed an older male influence in my life.  Although we didn’t see each other much later in life I could always count on a good conservative joke being emailed to me once or twice a month.  My earliest memory of Victor is of him riding motorcycles and listening to The Steve Miller Band.  You will be missed.

I've known Vic for a few years, but only in the last year I got to know him better, because we worked closely together. He sat next to me at work, and we talked a lot about work, personal life, family. I enjoyed sharing stories about my kids with him, and hearing him share about his family and grandson. Vic loved watching his grandson play at daycare. He will be truly missed by everyone at work. 

I've known and worked with Vic ever since he joined Halliburton. He is one of the kind. We played a lot of golf together in the monthly tournaments. I remember one of last rounds of golf we played was at Twin Lakes. It was truly  like heaven. Numerous time we had lunch together to just talk and to get away from the office. I really enjoyed his company.  I could tell he loved his family and the new grandson by the way he talked about them. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know him as a friend, co-worker, and a golfing buddy. He left us way too soon. 

I met Vic a little over 6 years ago and from the moment I met him I was greeted with that warm huge smile. I always enjoy our talks as he always spoke so highly of his wife (whom he refereed to as "Momma"), his bowling league, his daughter's wedding a few years ago, golf trips, his trip in 2017 to Thailand, and of course most recently his excitement of a proud Grandpa.  I will cherish the short time I had with him and I will miss that warm huge smile. 

I had the honor of working with Vic for several years. He was always a pleasure to be around and I had a lot of respect for him. We shared similar backgrounds and we both had job shop mentalities which are rare these days. 
Thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will truly be missed. 

I only worked with Vic in the last few years but he was always professional, polite, extremely knowledgeable and always willing to lend a hand when I needed help.  He always had a smile on his face.  Vic will truly be missed.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and his numerous friends.
Warm regards,
Pattie

I've known and worked with Vic going on 5 years.  He is one of the real special people I have met in my life and I feel blessed to have crossed his path.  He always made me smile.  He taught me a lot about the business and was always fair.  I feel privileged to met him for lunch just a week before he left us.  He was genuine, treated everyone the same and what you see is what you get.  He loved his job, his team and always had a smile.  I feel blessed I  had the opportunity to spend lots of lunches and breakfasts with him over the years.  He loved his family and grandson very much.  You are missed my friend.

My deepest condolences to Missy and Jayca. Shocked and saddened of the news of my cousin Victor! To many memories to list them all but in short so thankful Victor n Missy decided at last minute to join us for Sturgis SD trip 2013. Vic said was a bucket list item. I also learned to waterski behind his dad Uncle Bobby boat in very early 70s. And of late the twisted ankle Arkansas ride in 2015, WOOHOO. Only the ones that rode would understand :) 
RIP Victor Earl and God Speed

Donald Henkes

OBITUARY

Victor E. Russell

April 3, 1961 – January 8, 2019

Rhoton Funeral Home

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