On January 19, 2024, Lynne Ellen Russell passed away peacefully surrounded by her family, after a courageous seven years living with younger-onset Alzheimer's disease. Lynne was a supportive and generous mother, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, colleague and teacher. She deeply cared for her sons, family and friends, and touched all our lives in a profound way.

Lynne was born December 12, 1965, in Toledo, Ohio to Karen and Jim Russell. Lynne grew up in Michigan and moved to Eugene, Oregon for high school. Lynne graduated from South Eugene High School in 1984

and from the University of Oregon in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications.

Lynne spent the first half of her professional career seeing and appreciating the potential in people as a lead recruiter for Microsoft, and later for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Her keen sense of talent and ability to mentor her hires earned her life-long friendships, respect and admiration. When her sons were adolescents, Lynne earned a master’s degree from Seattle University in Elementary Special Education. She dedicated the second half of her career as a much-loved special education teacher in low income the Renton and Seattle public school districts, again appreciating and fostering the unique talents and potential in each of her students. Colleagues and friends from those schools praised her as an outstanding and dedicated teacher and an effective advocate for her students until she retired after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Lynne loved to have fun with her family and friends, traveling, attending live music, spontaneously singing and dancing, and recreating outdoors. Lynne was fluent in German and met her former husband, Clemens Butz, on a University of Oregon study abroad in Germany, where he convinced her to extend her student visa. Together they had their sons, Henrik and Simon (26) and Christoph (21). Lynne cherished her sons more than anything. She exposed them to their US and German heritage, culture and extended family, blending family traditions while creating their own. She also instilled in them her passion for outdoor recreation. Lynne was determined to make sure her sons would be surrounded by love and support from her father, siblings and most of all her ex-husband Clemens as her Alzheimer’s advanced. Lynne made such an amazing impact on her friends, that they continued to support and visit Lynne weekly throughout the last years of her life while she resided at Aegis-Madison and then Quail Park memory care facilities in Seattle.

Lynne was preceded in death by her mother, Karen Russell. Lynne will be greatly missed by her sons Henrik, Simon and Christoph; her brother Keith Russell and sister-in-law Sheri; her sister Pam Russell Bejerano and brother-in-law Eduardo; her father Jim Russell; her nieces Alena and Maysee Russell; her ex-husband Clemens Butz; and many wonderful extended family members and close friends.

Lynne decided to continue to be a teacher even after her death by dedicating her body for research at the Alzheimer’s Disease and Research Center and to teach in the University of Washington’s Willed Body Program at Harborview in educational programs for early medical students.

There will be a celebration of Lynne’s life this summer in Seattle, WA.  In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Washington Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/alzwa

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