Elizabeth (Betty) Kelly Russell of West Hartford, 95, wife of the late Thomas H. Russell Jr., died Saturday, December 28, 2019 peacefully at home. Born in 1924 in Hartford, daughter of the late James and Delia (Devery) Kelly, she was a graduate of Bulkeley High School and a resident of West Hartford her entire adult life. Betty was employed as the secretary to the Principal of Mary Hooker School in Hartford prior to her retirement. She was a communicant at the St. Thomas the Apostle Church, West Hartford. She was active in the West Hartford Belles, Hartford Retired Secretaries, the Intensive Education Academy, the Mark Twain Foundation and many other local groups. Betty is survived by her children and their spouses: Janet and David Burhoe of Spring, Texas, Richard and Mary Russell of West Hartford, James and Carmela Russell of Farmington, Patricia and Matthew Donelan of Farmington, and David Russell and Natasha Lipcan of Westport. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Aimee and Steven Burhoe, Alexandrea Russell and her fiancé Adam Weinberger, Reid, Kate, Patrick, Finn and Sasha Russell, Amanda, Michaela, and Nicholas Donelan, and her great grandson, Joshua Burhoe.
She was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, Thomas, her son Thomas Michael Russell, her brother James and his wife Maureen Kelly, her three sisters, Mary Horan and her husband Robert, Dorothy Kelly, and Florence Partridge and her husband William, and her two sisters-in-law, Marie Russell and Corrinne Despard and her husband Henry. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Betty is survived by her many nieces and nephews, who were so dear to her, and many devoted friends. The family has deep gratitude for the compassionate care provided Betty for several years by We Care Home Care of Glastonbury. Betty was a calm, kind soul, a peacemaker, the sunshine in so many of our lives, and we will miss her dearly.
Funeral procession will be Tuesday, (January 14, 2020), 9:15 am from the Sheehan-Hilborn-Breen Funeral Home at 1084 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 872 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be in Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery, Bloomfield. Friends and family may call from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, (January 13, 2020) at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to FAVARH, The ARC of the Farmington Valley, 225 Commerce Drive, Canton, CT 06019. Online condolences may be made at www.SheehanHilbornBreen.com