Colonel Robert Lewis Russell (Ret.), a decorated Army Veteran, passed away on December 28, 2020 at the age of 91. Bob was born in Pottstown, PA on September 18, 1929 to Raymond and Edith (Moyer) Russell.
Bob attended Pottstown High School where he was a member of the concert and jazz bands, quarterback of the varsity football team and participated in several other sports. He met and began dating his future wife, Gloria Lazensky, at Pottstown High. Bob graduated from the United States Military Academy at West point as a second lieutenant in the US Army on June 3, 1952, and married Gloria in a full military ceremony on the same day in the West Point chapel. He also went on to earn a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech University.
He had many overseas military assignments including the Korean War Offensive, Germany, the Viet Nam Conflict, and Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR), as well as multiple locations in the US including the Pentagon, and Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Command in Huntsville AL. He retired from the Army in 1978 and worked as an engineer for several years before finally retiring from Teledyne Brown Engineering. He received many honors and decorations for his service to our country, some of which included several Bronze Stars, a United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit in 1976 for his successful operation of KMR.
Bob was predeceased in death by his beloved wife Gloria, after 55 years of marriage, his parents, Raymond and Edith, his brothers, Raymond, Jr. and Gerald, and his sister, Joan Mercer. He is survived by and will be greatly missed by his six children, Donna Mitchell-Halsey (William), Debra Jefferson, Jane Bingle (Robert), Robert Russell, Jr. (Judy), Nancy Jones (Phillip) and David Russell; as well as his eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren, who dearly loved their PaPa.
For the past ten years, he lived at Brookdale, a Senior Living community in Huntsville where he made many great friends. He was preceded in death by his friend and companion, Mildred Robeson.
Memorial services for Bob are pending until Spring. Memorials in lieu of flowers may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or Saint Bernard Prep School in Cullman, AL.
