This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: Lace_Lynch Surnames: Classification: obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.russell/6756/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Marjory Stewart Russell Marj was a drill sergeant, Matter of fact. Taught Red Cross swimming, Not known for her tact. -Craig Tregillus, May 10, 2007 Marjory (Marj) Stewart Russell died Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at Friends Care Center, Yellow Springs, Ohio where she had been living since Sept. 16, 2005. She was 86. She was born in Johnstown, Pa., June 26, 1920, and grew up there, where her father was an engineer for U.S. Steel, and her mother was a Latin teacher. She learned to play piano and clarinet while growing up there, and continued while at Oberlin College, where she graduated in 1942. She then went to New York City and earned a masters degree in social work at Columbia University, in 1944. During her first job in Hartford, Conn., she contracted polio (non-paralytic) and recovered after many weeks at a sanitarium "where I had to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling all day and night!" This was known as the "Sister Kenny Method" of polio treatment. The experience was the basis of her lifelong determination to stay healthy by eating well and getting plenty of exercise. Her father died shortly after that, and her mother got a job at Mount Vernon College in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Marj got a job in Dayton, Ohio so she would be within a day's travel of her mother. While working as a social worker at the Community Chest in Dayton, she met Virginia Swackhammer, of Greenmont Village, Dayton, and Suzi Vernet, Yellow Springs, Ohio both of whom were social workers, and both of whom introduced her to Tony Russell. Marj and Tony were married May 1, 1949, by Mayor Kinzel. Almost immediately, she joined the League of Women Voters because she was so amazed that Yellow Springs had not yet ended the burning of the town's garbage and felt it was time to establish a "sanitary landfill," the current standard in other communities. At about the same time, a local child, Gerry Partee, drowned in the Little Miami River. Marj's reaction to that tragedy was, "Children aren't learning to swim in this town?" She had her Red Cross Swim Instructor's certification, and discovered there was one other person, Marge Champney, who also had the certification. The two of them started the Yellow Springs community swim instruction program in 1951, which, in the early years, was held at Orton Pool, John Bryan State Park. So many families and children signed up for swim lessons that it was decided that the Village needed its own pool instead of having to lease time at Orton Pool and pay for school bus transportation. After an ambitious and successful fundraising campaign, the new pool was built on the site of the old dump, on Mr. Gaunt's land, an irony Marj enjoyed. Many reunion attendees, over the years, have thanked her for her "drill sergeant" method of teaching them to swim. After the 1979 tornado in Xenia, Ohio Marj joined the staff of the Xenia Guidance Center and worked there until her retirement in 1982. Marj was active in the Yellow Springs Recorder Society, and the combined Antioch/Community Orchestra/ Chorus as well as the Community Band, singing alto and playing clarinet for the past 50 years. For many years she enjoyed yakking and sparring with her friends at the Emporium when picking up her daily New York Times. Her endless curiosity motivated her world travels; she especially enjoyed learning about Cuba by traveling there three times in the last few years. Her loyal support of her husband's long and precedent-setting fight with the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was won in the U.S. Supreme Court (1962) was noted by many. Preceding her in death was her son, Peter Ibbotson Russell, in 1967, and her husband, Norton Anthony (Tony) Russell, in 1996. She is survived by her daughter, Lynn Russell Hickerson, of Bangor, Maine, and her grandson, Michael Hickerson, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Two funds have been established at the Yellow Springs Community Foundation: The Peter Russell Memorial Fund, and The Marj Russell "Learn to Swim" Scholarship Fund. Swim lessons have always been free, but as expenses to run the pool increase, the membership fees have gone up, and some families will need assistance to join the pool so their children can learn to swim. The Peter Russell fund will support efforts toward social justice and programs working to reduce drug addiction. A memorial gathering for family and friends was held Saturday, May 12, 2007. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.