Paul Russell

Paul Lay Russell passed away on Wednesday morning, March 3, 2021, at Methodist North Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Born on April 15, 1937, he married the former Diana Diggs in Paris, TN on May 4, 1968; she pre-deceased him on July 1, 1996.

Paul was born in Webb, Mississippi on April 15, 1937 to Eunice Lay and Paul “Pat” Russell.  He loved the Delta and his large family there.  He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1959 with a BA in Horticulture and later took another Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture—both from the University of Georgia.  He moved to Paris, TN, in 1963, and worked for Tennessee Valley Authority as a landscape architect for 31 years, retiring in 1994.  He was an avid collector of antiques and a prolific gardener.  In his retirement, Paul kept himself active by volunteering with Meals on Wheels in Paris, the Iris Society, AARP, and the TVA Retirees’ association.  A long-time member of First United Methodist Church in Paris, he more recently worshipped at St. John’s Methodist Church in Memphis.  He lived the last five years of his life at the GlenMary facility in Memphis in independent living.  He loved travelling, working in his garden, watching the Mississippi State and Georgia Bulldog football teams, and he enjoyed his food, especially barbecue, shrimp, and chocolate pie!

He is survived by his daughter, Marjorie Vivian Levy (Herb) of Memphis, and his son, Richard Rankin Russell (Hannah), of Waco, TX, along with his grandchildren, Vincent Levy, Connor Russell, and Aidan Russell.

Ridgeway Funeral Home of Paris is in charge of the private family service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Meals on Wheels in Paris, or to the charity of your choice.

Romans 8: 38-9:  “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”