Nan Russell

Nancy “Nan” Richmond (Meyer) Russell passed away peacefully at home on Monday, April 15, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Nan was born in Poughkeepsie, NY in 1932, the second of two girls. She attended Emma Willard school and graduated from Goucher College. When her youngest was still in school, she returned to school and received graduate degrees in pioneering Mime Therapy from Bowie State University and Johns Hopkins University. Nan often enjoyed including her family while miming in many public places and social venues.  

Nan married Roy Patterson Russell in 1954 and is survived by her children Roy, Charlotte, Madeleine, Erica, Philip, John, as well as many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Nan’s home was always open to people and animals alike. While her children were growing up, Nan housed a menagerie of geese, donkeys, a pony, goats, lambs, dogs and cats. It was not unusual for Nan to pick up her children from school in a cart pulled by the two donkeys, Blossom and Delight. When the children aged beyond middle school this was quite the embarrassment but, mostly, it was well tolerated. Her beloved husband died in 2022 after 68 years of marriage. 

Nan was an incredibly resourceful person who left a path of art wherever she went. She loved creativity of any kind and enjoyed nothing more than teaching those around her. When asked later in life, she would say that she should have gotten a degree in art. Nan continued to explore new hobbies and, when she moved to Center Sandwich, NH, she discovered a love for woodworking. She eventually assembled a woodshop that quickly became a family favorite, with children and grandchildren traveling to build everything from bookshelves to fairy houses with Nan. When she wasn’t teaching, laughing with friends, or refurbishing a chair, she could be found in her ceramic studio. Nan loved to have her grandchildren and the children from town in these spaces creating their own masterpieces. She would then glaze, fire and distribute. Nan was also a musician of sorts. She loved the guitar and singing songs like Pete Seeger classics “The Foolish Frog” and “Fox went out on a chilly night”. Her true love was children; both her own and those of the communities in which she lived. From the Downtown Baltimore Children’s Center to the Sandwich Children’s Center, Nan loved and inspired many. 

A memorial service is being planned for August, 2024. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Museum Village of Old Smith’s Clove, 1010 Rte 17M, Monroe, NY 10950 (https://museumvillage.org/) founded by her grandfather Roscoe Smith, or The Sandwich Children's Center, 54 Maple St, Sandwich, NH 03227 (https://www.sandwichchildrenscenter.org/) where the children were the center of her woodworking teaching.