A service to celebrate the life of David Caldwell Russell will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 20, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mobile. The Reverends John Harris Riggin and William “Pete” Burgess will officiate. Visitation and lunch will follow in the parish hall. Graveside services will be held at noon on Friday, January 21, at New Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama. The Rev. Henry Lee Hudson will officiate and visitation and lunch will follow at the Selma Country Club.
David was born in Selma on August 20, 1950, and died on Sunday, January 16, 2022, at his home in Mobile following a long illness.
David spent many happy childhood years along Selma’s Jones Creek and at his grandparents’ summer home on Alabama Point (now Orange Beach). David was baptized at Valley Creek Presbyterian Church in Dallas County and grew up at First Presbyterian Church of Selma. He was a regular attendant at annual Valley Creek homecoming services, where he would faithfully stand up for the Russells during the “roll call” of founding families. He was proud to be a direct descendant of David Russell, one of the original Scotch Irish pioneer organizers of the church in 1816.
He attended Selma City Schools, graduating from Albert G. Parrish High School in 1968 and the University of Alabama in 1972 with a BS in finance. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.
Upon graduation, David was employed by Miller & Company in Selma until they sent him to their York, Alabama, sawmill to fill in for "a couple of weeks". After more than a year in York, David decided to seek a bit more adventure by accepting a position with Buchanan Lumber in their Belem, Para, Brasil, operation where he selectively graded and procured tropical hardwoods for the export market. Later he served as general manager of Madeiras Finas do Brasil, also headquartered in Belem, and managed their mill in Abaetetuba on the Rio Tocantins. In 1985, at his wife’s behest, he returned to Mobile, eventually putting on a coat and tie to work as stockbroker/financial planner at Legg Mason and UBS. In his abundant spare time, David found solace and satisfaction fishing with family and friends for the ever elusive “big one” in the waters off Perdido Pass.
In 1986, David was confirmed as an Episcopalian at Mobile's St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He was also a member of several Mobile mystic societies.
David was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Donald MacDonald Russell, Sr., and Jacqueline Fairchild Brown Russell Patton of Selma and step-father David Boykin Patton of Eutaw, Alabama.
He is survived by his wife Virginia “Ginny” Kilpatrick Russell, daughter Ann Marie Russell Brooks and her husband Clayton Howard Brooks, sister Ann Russell Miller and her husband David Winston Miller, all of Mobile; brother Dr. Donald MacDonald Russell Jr. and his wife Cherry Crawford Russell of Selma and Orange Beach, and mother-in-law Ann Marie Laskey Kilpatrick Terry of Mobile. Other survivors include beloved nieces and nephews Jana Russell Garner, Dr. Rayne Russell Osborn, Shannon Miller Cook, Mary Russell Miller, Donald MacDonald Russell III and David Winston Miller Jr. He’s also survived by his seven first cousins whom he adored: Mary Russell McKissack, Beth Russell Williams, Johnny Russell, P. Vaughan Russell, Ruth Russell Buster, Robin Russell Duke and Dr. Richard Grutzmacher.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal School Foundation, 161 Dogwood Lane, Mobile 36608, or Valley Creek Presbyterian Memorial Association, c/o Becky Nichols, 803 Houston Park, Selma 36701.
