Mary Lou Russell

Mary Lou Russell, age 90, was born January 27, 1934 in Monticello, Kentucky and departed this life at her home in Somerset, Kentucky on December 14, 2024.

She is survived by her 3 daughters, Rosanna (Jack) Adams, Sheila (Johnny) Whitaker, Jennifer (Garry) Norton and her son Brian (Brenda) Russell; Grandchildren, Robbie (Mary) Adams, Kelly (James) Poynter, Jared (Kathy) Whitaker, Stefanie (Troy) Chapman, Madison Whitaker, Jackie (Ronnie) Hall, Dylan Norton, Jessica (Jackson) Lockard, Breanna Russell, Brooke Russell and Bryce Russell and 12 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 70 years, Franklyn Russell; her parents, Lena and Oscar Whitson; sister Ann Whitson Mize; brother Vernon Whitson; brother Austin Whitson and grandson David Adams. 

Mary Lou was a long-time pianist (and boy could she make a piano bounce), Sunday school teacher and a member of Calvary Baptist Church.

Mary Lou was a master biscuit maker and could fry a chicken like no one else. The kitchen was always open and she could make your favorite meal appear just by pulling up a chair to the table. No one left her home hungry. 

If you needed something hemmed or repaired, she was the first one to ask. She could make her sewing machine throw sparks when she got going good. She wasn’t afraid of starting a complicated quilt and they were always a work of perfectly imperfect art when they were done. Long evenings spent with her knitting or crochet needles meant that everyone was getting a new dishcloth each time they visited. Of course, it always came with coffee and dessert. 

If you stopped by her house early in the morning, you would find her head bowed over her Bible. The fingers of her left hand lovingly touching the words to keep her place while her right hand scribbled notes on a legal pad of things she wanted to remember. She would look up, quietly close her Bible and then give you her full undivided attention as if you were the most important person to her. No one ever left her home without a hug and an “I love you”.

She loved being a grandmother and had a magic touch when it came to putting babies to sleep. We still aren’t sure if it was the hold she had on them or the fact that, no matter the weather, she took her grandbabies to the front porch swing. In minutes, she had succeeded at what everyone else had been trying to do for an hour. 

The common factor in all of this was her hands. From playing the piano, to cooking, to sewing, to knitting, to reading her Bible, to holding babies, to hugging her loved ones… it is all about what she did with her hands. Even more, it was about the love she put into everything she did. Her family will forever remember and cherish the love and memories created by Grandma’s hands. In 1953, those same hands were joined in marriage to Franklyn Russell. They were separated last year when he passed away. Now, they will be holding hands once again... this time for all of eternity.

 A funeral service will be held, Thursday, December 19, 2024 at Pulaski Funeral Home at one PM with Rev. Jamie Epperson officiating, 

The family will receive friends on Thursday, December 19, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. 

Burial will follow service at Renfro Valley Cemetery