Martha Dunn Russell

Memorial services for Martha Dunn Russell, 80, of Willoughby Hills, maybe held at a later date after covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Mrs. Russell passed away Sunday, July 26, 2020 at Heartland of Willoughby.

Born January 7, 1940 in Cleveland, she was a longtime Euclid resident.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in education from Taylor University and her Master’s degree in education from the former Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She taught briefly at Cedarville College and for the Euclid Board of Education. She then served as a missionary for Baptist Mid-Missions, teaching in Brazil for ten years.

In 1979, she married Jim Russell, whom she had met in Brazil in 1969. They traveled frequently in his job as a construction manager of medical facilities all over the world. They resided for many years in the Atlanta, Georgia area, and after Jim’s death in 2017, Martha returned to Willoughby Hills, where she attended Nottingham Baptist Church, the church she had attended as a child. In Georgia, she and Jim attended Indian Creek Baptist Church, where they taught a class for recent immigrants wanting to receive citizenship and helped them acclimate to the United States.

Survivors are her sister, Ruth Damaris (James) Vanderground. She also leaves her nieces and nephews, Jason, Rebecca, Daniel, David and Debbie and their families.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James in 2017. Her parents, George B. and Mildred (Anderson) Dunn and sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Donald Leitch are also deceased.

Private interment will be in Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Seville, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages contributions to Baptist Mid-Missions, PO Box 308011, Cleveland, OH 44130-8011.