Obituary

Peggy C Russell
June 6, 1932--March 13, 2025 (age 92)

Peggy Irene Carithers was born in Charleston, Mississippi. The 5th and final child of Blanton Edward Carithers and Dottie Alda Carithers. She graduated from Charleston High School.

She then went to business college in Memphis, Tennessee. She would always drive back home on the weekends, and her mother introduced her to one of her dad's employees. His name was Howard Kelly Russell. He worked for The Boy Scouts of America. As the relationship started to get more serious, Peggy's father was not happy, as no one was good enough for any of his daughters. He requested that Howard be promoted and transferred to Guam as his little girl would never move that far away from home. That backfired of course. The transfer came in to Hawaii so they moved the wedding up 3 months and moved there for their honeymoon in 1957.

They had their first child, Charles Edward Russell, in Hawaii in 1960 and their second son, Steven Howard Russell, in Tucson, Arizona, in 1963 where they lived from 1962-1965.

In 1965 they moved to Alta Loma, California. Peggy worked as a secretary for the local school district.

In 1978 Howard, Peggy and Steve, moved to Pendleton, Oregon where she got a job with the Umatilla ESD. She stayed there until retirement in 1994.

She was preceded in death by all but her youngest son, Steve.

Howard passed away December 31, 1985 and she remained faithful to their vows for 40 years.

Sisters Christina, Mildred, and Mae Bell all died in Mississippi, while brother Johnnie, died in Tucson, Arizona. Her oldest sone Charles Russell-Coons passed away in November in Seattle.

Peggy was a devout Christian woman her served in a variety of clubs and Bible groups over the years. She enjoyed gardening, her weekly woman's Bible study and was always up for a game of Mexican Train or Rummi Kube. Everyone knew to keep a close eye on her though. The joke was that she cheated and she loved that joke.

Peggy will be missed, but she sure made an impact on a lot of people in those 92 years.

Services will be Thursday, March 20, 2025 at Creekside Church located at 1711 SW 44th St., Pendleton, OR 97801. Viewing will begin at 9:00 am followed by funeral services at 10:00 am. Graveside will follow at Olney Cemetery in Pendleton, Oregon.