Mary Nell Russell

Mary Nell (Johnson) Russell of Norman went home to be with the Lord surrounded by loved ones on December 25, 2017 at the age of 88. She was born on May 16, 1929 in Oakland, Oklahoma to Robert Daniel and Ella Ree (Shook) Johnson.

Mary Nell was a graduate of Madill High School. She met the love of her life, Kenneth Odell Russell, in 1948; shortly after, they eloped to Gainesville, Texas on November 6, 1948. They then moved to Ft. Worth, where they made their home for 41 years until moving to Norman, Oklahoma. The couple had a long and loving life together for 46 years, raising one daughter, Retha.

Mary Nell worked at Hancock Fabrics, where she sewed the clothes for the stores’ displays before working at Luby’s Cafeteria in Texas and then retiring from Furr’s Cafeteria in Norman.

Mary Nell was a member of Bethel Baptist Church in Norman. She was a very kind and loving woman whose life revolved around her family. Anyone who met her instantly loved her. She enjoyed sewing, knitting, cooking, and baking; she was famous for her pumpkin cranberry bread!

Mary Nell was preceded in death by: parents Robert and Ella Ree Johnson; brother Robert Winston Johnson; husband Kenneth Russell; and grandson Foy Jamathan Cox. She is survived by: daughter Retha Annell (Russell) Cox and husband Foy of Norman, OK; granddaughter Melissa Cox of Norman; great-grandson Garrett Cox and wife Brooke of Tecumseh, OK; great-granddaughters Joyanna Cox, Gracie Cox, Emma Langbein, and Madalynn Vanhoy; and great-great grandchildren Logan and Emberly.