It has just been brought to my attention that
Leon Russell. aged 90, passed away on July 18, 2019. Farwell to a great person. I first met Leon in 2008 at a luncheon for those interested in preserving the memories of the men who lost their lives in the Great Hanging.
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Leon, his lovely wife Jean, Richard McCaslin
2008 |
The previous October 2007, Leon organized and started what would become a yearly memorial observance of the Great Hanging at Gainesville. He bought wooden stakes and with his family made 42 crosses, painted them white, added "red, white and blue" ribbons, and then put the name of a 'Great Hanging' victim on each cross. The Gainesville City Council had given Russell permission to hold a ceremony in the Georgia Davis Bass Park. During the ceremony, a bell was rang as each name of a Gainesville Hanging victim was recited.
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Gainesville Daily Register 2007
First Public Commemoration of the Great Hanging
To read this article, click here. |
Leon Russel Obituary
Leon Woods Russell, 90, resident of Keller, Texas, passed
away July 18, 2019 peacefully in his home with loved ones by his side. He was
born November 14, 1928 in Cooke County, Texas the first child of Ruel and Sibyl
Russell in the tiny community of Woodbine. His parents, made their home there
during the depths of the Great Depression, living in a small one-room cabin,
built from local available tree lumber.
The Russell family struggled to survive on sustenance
farming, gardening and occasional day labor, which the memory of forever
impacted Leon and formed the foundation for his robust work ethic, tireless
drive and focus. This was later appreciated and recognized in his Army military
service, career in the business world of insurance at Underwriters Adjusting
Company (UAC), volunteer work at Trinity Lutheran Church Dallas, and as a life
member of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States in leadership
positions at the local and state level. He completed primary school in
Woodbine, Texas. His high schools were in Gainesville, Texas and Thackerville,
Oklahoma. Staying close to his roots, Leon, known as LW, remained steadfast
friends with his Thackerville, Oklahoma 1946 graduation class of 12 students.
While only 17, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps with
several high school friends. After serving four years active duty, and 16 years
active reserve duty, he retired from the Army as Chief Warrant Officer,
Ballistic Meteorology. Leon's UAC career began in 1955 in Wichita Falls, Texas
which took him from the oil fields of Electra and Burkburnett, Texas to every
part of the US and Canada and even to examine the performance of some companies
doing business at Lloyds in London. Other accomplishments included directing
all claims activities in the Southwest, and later his Southern Region group of
companies, and managing a performance and audit program for claims operation
company-wide.
Those at UAC who were the recipients of his sage advice,
analytical skills, and management fairness remained his dear friends for the 30
years after his 1990 retirement.
He received a Bachelor's degree in Business from Midwestern
University in 1958, and while a student there met and married Jean, his wife of
56 years. Three children were the result of this union.
Determined to see that his children be exposed to travel and
enjoy nature as he, as a family they camped at most all of the US State and
National Parks and deep into the interior of Mexico. Summers were spent
camping, boating and water skiing and all his children were taught to ski by
the age of five. Numerous children and adult friends were also included and
skillfully taught as well. Other passions included flying and piloting his
Cessna airplane, study of ancient cultures, and fossil and artifact hunting.
A deep thinker and observer of human rights injustices, Leon
was coined the "Keller Agitator" for his work in 2007, when he
brought about the first Great Hanging Commemoration, ignored and sorely
overdue, in Gainesville, Texas, which honored the 42 men lynched in 1862 in the
largest mass hanging in US history. This accomplishment came after having
suffered a catastrophic stroke two years prior. His efforts bolstered the soon
thereafter formation of the non-profit Great Hanging Memorial Foundation which
serves to commemorate and educate about the lives lost during a terrible and
difficult time in US history.
Leon's appreciation for music was diverse and he found
guitar pickers fascinating, and none more so than his loyal and talented
friend, Randy Floyd, who plays just like he always wanted to and who patiently
taught Leon all the old songs he loved. His profound love of country was never
more evident in his prepared instructions, intended for his eventual passing, expressed
as "I depart without regrets, without apology, and in anticipation of the
hereafter. I am fortunate to have lived in the only country in the world that
offers hope to a world in chaos. I owe whatever success I have to America, the
country that allowed a skinny kid from Woodbine to realize a full life during a
time when life was cheap for so many millions."
He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean; father, Ruel
Russell; mother, Sibyl Orsburn Russell; his brothers, Ruel Douglas, Allen Roy,
John Clifford, and sister, Vera Mae Tucker Wilmer. Leon is survived by
children, Randy and his dearest Diana, Gayla, Farley and his only grandson,
Chad; and youngest sister, Janice Turner, as well as appreciated nieces,
nephews, extended family and loyal friends.
Family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at
Restland Funeral Home from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Service with military honors will
be held Thursday, July 25, 2019 at noon at Restland Funeral Home at The Abbey
Chapel. Interment will take place at Restland Cemetery. Please consider a
donation in Leon's name to: Great Hanging Memorial Foundation, PO Box 461,
Valley View, TX 76262.
Published on July 23, 2019
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| Leon at 2012 Great Hanging Commemoration |
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