Icel Lee (Richardson) Russell was born May 28, 1922 in the Ponca City Hospital in Oklahoma. Her mother had been in labor for 3 days when the hospital performed their very first C-Section. Eleven days later her mother died from complications. In the meantime she had written Icel Lee’s name on a piece of paper. (She was named after her grandmother.)
She was part of the “Greatest Generation” that lived through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and World War II.
She lived on her grandparents farm with her aunts and uncles, rode a horse to school--which was a one-room school that averaged 14 students, grades 1-8. At age 8 she was driving a grain truck to the grain elevator during harvest, which was 1 mile away from their home. She also drove daily 1½ miles to get drinking water using the family’s car. Everyone on the farm had to do their share of work. She preferred outside work rather than being inside.
When her grandparents died as a teenager, she moved to Perkins, Oklahoma to live with an aunt. There she met the love of her life, Clement W. Russell. They were married June 14, 1942. After 1 month of marriage Clem enlisted in the Army Air Corps during WWII. Icel Lee followed him around the United States while he trained to go overseas on December 31, 1944. He was eventually a crew chief for maintaining a B-29 on Tinian Island. He was on the military base when the Enola Gay took off for Hiroshima.
After the war Clem became an electrician and they moved to Valley Center in 1950. They joined the First United Methodist Church that year where she was active in the Children’s Dept. (Later in life she and Clem took many fun trips sponsored by their church.)
Icel Lee had gone to college one year at Oklahoma State and then finished her Elementary Education degree at Friends University. In 1957 she began teaching 3rd grade at Abilene Elementary School. She loved kids and had many fond memories of those years. Her retirement from teaching was in 1985. She had taught close to a thousand students. Several of her students stayed in touch with her through cards, letters and flowers to the day she died.
She made many life-long friends in Valley Center. She was the last remaining member of “Stitch and Chat”--which those ladies were very dear to her heart. She also was a leader in 4-H, a part of “Busy-Bees”, “Eastern Star”, “EHU”, and took part in many other events in the Valley Center community.
She and Clem had 2 daughters, Nila Sue and Wayne Spencer of Overland Park and Ralph and Linda Nutter of Valley Center. They had 5 grandchildren, Doug & Karen Spencer of Overland Park, Pam & Todd Reasoner of Maize, Greg & Corinna Spencer of Rogers, AR, Robbie & Gail Nutter of Manhattan and Ryan & Camala Nutter of Maize. They had 13 great grandchildren that were dearly loved.
A memorial has been set up for either the Valley Center Methodist Church or Kansas State University Christian Challenge
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Thursday, April 6 and Service will be 10 a.m., Friday, April 7, both held at the First United Methodist Church, 560 N. Park, Valley Center, Kansas. Graveside service will follow at the Hope Cemetery, Arkansas City, Kansas.
Baker Funeral Home Valley Center is handling arrangements. Condolences may be left for the family at www.bakerfhvc.com.