Susan Whittington Russell of Port Deposit, Maryland, aged 77, died January 1, 2023, following complications of end-stage kidney disease. She is survived by her brothers, Thomas Edgie Russell, III, and John Edgie Russell, Sr. The only daughter of Dr. Thomas Edgie Russell, Jr. and Dorothy Russell (nee Baier), Susan graduated from Roland Park Country School and Connecticut College, before receiving a Juris Doctor from Boston University in 1970.

Susan belonged to a generation of trailblazing women in the legal profession. The year Susan received her J.D. (1970), women made up less than 9% of BU Law graduates, despite the university’s progressive recruitment policies. Susan’s legal career spanned four decades, spent chiefly in the role of Assistant, and later Chief Counsel for the Maryland State Educator’s Association (MSEA). Susan cherished the connections she made through the MSEA to educators, organizers, and others who became life-long friends. As counsel, Susan championed the rights and interests of educators throughout the state at the negotiating table, in the Courts, and at the General Assembly.

Susan was a loyal and generous friend. She will fondly remembered for her tender heart, love and patronage of the arts, travel, and animals. Susan was never anyone but herself, refusing to bend to the expectations of others and often defied convention, achieving excellence along the way. Though no-nonsense, she was a loyal and generous friend, with a tender heart and ready to dispense advice both practical and wise. A born raconteur, her rollicking stories and laugh-‘til-you cry adventurous spirit will be sorely missed by her loved ones.

A Celebration of Life will be held in the Carriage House at Gramercy Mansion, 1400 Greenspring Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland this Saturday, April 29, 2023, 12 noon – 3 p.m. Please email expectation of attendance to RussellFamilyEvents@gmail.com.  Memories of Susan are welcome to be shared on the webpage 

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