Russell Lee

Russell Emmett Lee was born June 18, 1927, in Silverton, TX, to George Washington "Wash" Lee and Ira Euphrates Hancock Lee. He had two brothers, Roy Len Lee and George Washington "GW" Lee, and three sisters, Glenna Lee Bye, Wyona Lee Thompson, and Fadean Lee Wilson. His early years on the family farm were marked by the Great Depression. The family grew cotton and raised cattle and horses. His mother sold eggs in town to make ends meet and the kids rode horses to school. After his father passed away when Russell was 10, his mother began working in the cotton fields. The kids grew up fast – Russell liked to say, “we were children of the dust.”

Russell wanted to volunteer for military service in World War II and wrote to the Canadian military who wrote back that he was too young to join up. When he came of age, he joined the US Navy in 1944, shipping out to the Phillipines just a few months after the war ended. He served on a crash boat that rescued downed pilots, and an admiral's barge. In 1951, he graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in petroleum geology. At Tech, he met his wife to be, Constance "Connie" Jean McMullan, and their first date was a Texas Tech football game. They married in Abilene on March 13, 1954. The honeymoon was in Alcapulco, Mexico!

They settled in Midland TX where he worked as a geologist for Sinclair Oil Company and started a family. Russell Jr. was born in 1956 and Nancy was born in 1959. Russell and Connie designed and managed construction of the family homes in Midland and later in Taylor's Valley south of Temple. He moved the family to Lubbock, then to Kilgore, back to Midland, and finally to Temple where he joined the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

At USDA, he spent seventeen years investigating food stamp violations and other illegal activity, and became a USDA special agent after training at the FBI school in Washington DC. Russell drove his beloved 1963 Volkswagen Beetle "company car" more than 500,000 miles to conduct investigations in Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arizona, and Oklahoma. He usually left home on Sunday and worked all week before driving back home on Friday. In 1997, he sold the Beetle to a Salado man who drove it past the million mile mark. This car never had air conditioning!

He retired from federal service on April 1, 1983. After retirement, Russell managed apartments and rental houses, and built additions and made improvements to the family home in Taylor’s Valley near Temple, TX. About twice a year, they visited friends and family all over the country while raising goats and tending to mules.

Russell loved riding his mules on trails in Texas and New Mexico and he named his favorite mule Chico. Russell was an active member of the Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association. He wore fine cowboy hats, boots, and stylish Western bola neckties, and owned several beautiful high-end, custom-made saddles.

He loved to read about world history and global finance and kept a personal library of hundreds of books. Russell and Connie shared a passion for science and technology. They enjoyed airshows and airplanes and passed on their interest in aviation to their son who became a pilot. Russell taught his daughter to ride horses and to love and respect all animals. He always said, “get a good education,” and he and Connie paid for both children’s college educations. They embraced healthy living decades before it became popular. Russell was a lifelong exercise enthusiast who embraced organic nutrition and alternative medicine.

He loved to travel and took the family on an epic month-long camping trip to Banff and Glacier National Parks in Canada in 1968. The family drove in a Volvo station wagon with a 17-foot aluminum canoe strapped on top. Russell designed and built a camp table that fit inside the canoe. The table could seat six people. To celebrate his retirement in 1983, he and Connie drove to Alaska where Russell spent several weeks paddling the canoe down the Yukon River. They later toured England, Scotland (twice), and the Netherlands.

After Connie passed away in 2003, Russell moved from Temple to Lawn TX, south of Abilene, in 2006. In 2017, he moved to Chisholm Court in Abilene. He was a lifelong swing dancer which led to many friendships and much entertainment during his years in Abilene. Russell passed away on March 14, 2024, and is survived by son Russell Jr., daughter-in-law Natalie, grandson Ian, and daughter Nancy.

Russell is celebrated as a son, husband, father, and friend. He was a source of wisdom, strength, and humor. We remember when his kindness and generosity touched our lives and made us think or laugh. He taught us the value of hard work and perseverance, and the importance of being financially aware and managing money wisely. He was an independent thinker who often challenged the status quo.