“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”Nehemiah 8: 10“It’s been a long time now. And not many remember how it was in the old days, not really. Not even those who were there to see it and hear it as it happened.”–Ralph Ellison“I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has chastened me sorely, but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates ofrighteousness, that I might enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; The righteous shall enter through it.”–Psalm 118: 17-20

Noting the value of elders in our communities, the Fula historian Amadou Hampâté Bâ once observed that, “when an elder dies, a library burns.” In other words, when we have not listened to those who have lived and seen and loved and trained us for many years, when they become Ancestors, we risk losing the value of what we have heard.

Mary rejoins her parents, Henry Thornton, and Precious Coleman. Her husband, Charles Cook Russell, and siblings Diane Denise Young, Tony Young, and Ronnie Young, and her daughter, Joyce Russell.

Over the arc of her eighty-five years on top of the Earth, Mary A. Russell has been known by many names: Maryann, Big Mary, A Tall Glass of Water, Susta, Mama, Mom, Ma, Mima, Auntie, Granny Girl, Grandmother, Godmother, Mrs Russell, Sister Russell, A’int Mary, Mother Russell, Mam Russell, . Queen Mother Russell. In the midday hours of August 19, 2026, she added the highest Earthly honorific: Venerated Ancestor. When an honored elder makes transition, she takes with her the witness and marking of generations. When a Queen Mother transcends, our rituals of completion and regeneration must ensure that the relationships and responsibilities we wove into the fabric of our existence with her now cover, protect, and enable those of us left here and those yet to come. Queen Mother Mary Russell carried us with her every day of her life, sharing her Earthly journey as a constant, loving guide.

The oldest, Mary, returned to this world as a baby born on a pallet in a house anchoring a family farm in Warren County, Vicksburg, Mississippi. She arrived as the oldest living daughter of her parents, Henry Roosevelt Thornton – stepdad Ned Beasley and Precious Coleman. She never knew her grandparents, as her mother was adopted. Mary’s brother John Henry Thornton and her parents were true human beings who farmed the land and raised their families in the shadow of American Apartheid and the Southern Lost Cause and Jim Crow. They were dedicated believers who helped lead as Deacon and Mother at Vicksburg, Mississippi, Baptist Church. The Thornton/Coleman/Young/Hooper’s raised Mary and her brother and extended family- Diana Denise Young (sister), four brothers, Tony Young, Ronnie Young, Melvin Young (Cynthia), and Carlos Thornton of a place of to place their faith in the Word and the Good News, hard work, and sacrifice.

Learning life lessons from parents and siblings that she used with family and classmates in Warren County, Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Rosa Temple High School. Mary Ann was one of hundreds of thousands of Black children throughout the US South learning reading, writing, and the value of education from Black school teachers and others during the inhuman days of American Apartheid. For far too many in the first three generations to live in Jim Crow suffered, in the words of Carter G. Woodson, a sequel to slavery. The Thornton’s, like millions of others, would find and teach hope and triumph through the power of their faith and their own labor.

On her way to New York City, she stopped in Kansas City, where she began a fulfilling job at Hallmark Cards. She enjoyed spending her free time with family and friends during her years of employment. After over 30 years at Hallmark Cards, she retired in December 1997. In addition to her work at Hallmark, she was also employed at the Chapter 13 Trustee’s office, where she retired twice. While spending time with loved ones, she met a young man named Charles Cook Russell, who became the love of her life.

He asked her a simple question, befitting his iwa pele, his gentle character: “Will you give me a chance?” That question led to a brief courtship followed by an eternal union forged in March 1979.

Mary developed strong friendships with her next-door neighbors, as well as with their families and children, throughout her life. The Russell home became a waystation, a sanctuary, a confessional, and a ritual destination for children and students from the surrounding neighborhoods and beyond.

For fifty years, she dedicated herself to loving service, becoming a pillar of the Mt. Nebo Baptist Church community. Her contributions were significant and varied; she was involved in the culinary and hospitality ministry, served as the president of the senior choir, and took on many other roles representing MNMBC at National Baptist Conventions and the Blue River Association. Through her efforts, she joined countless families in fostering good speech, good character, deep service, and wise instruction for generations. She was affectionately known as "Momma Mary," along with her husband, Mr. Russell. Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church became a true home for the Russells.

As Queen Mother Mary rejoins her Ancestors and becomes one of ours, we are reminded that this earthly life is limited by our human perception when it is, in fact, just a brief linger in larger eternity. Our burial rituals mark the beginning of our community journey without the physical presence of our new Ancestor. Our celebrations of her ascension, remembering the life she lived here and the effect she has on us, will only grow stronger in the months and years to come. We will mark her ascension day. Then her birthdays. And soon enough, we will rejoin her and all who came before her, who live on in the physical now in our blood and bones, in the spiritual forever all around us. It is God, though unseen, who is the source of all life, power, and health. It is well within our souls. Queen Mother Mary knew that. As she ascends, she knows it more than ever before. Mother always do.

Mary ascends to become the Ancestral Council for her children: Cecelia Thornton, Gold Thornton (Shelly), Hanif Mays (Roberta), Charles Russell, Kenneth Russell, Denise Watson, Charlesetta Russell, Belinda Foster, Paul Willoughby, David Willoughby, Kendall Willoughby, Arnell Willoughby, Darryl Willoughby, Cheryl Willoughby, and Yolanda Willoughby. She is also the beloved matriarch to 19 grandchildren, along with generations of nieces, nephews, and extended family, including their children and grandchildren. Mary made no earthly distinctions among us; she truly loved us all.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”–Hebrews 12: 1-2.

I have come from my townI have descended from my nation…I spoke truly, I did justiceI spoke the good, I repeated the good,I held on to rightness so as to stand well with people;I judged two parties so as to content them,I rescued the weak from one stronger than he as much as I could;I gave bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked,I ferried the boatless;I respected my fatherI pleased my mother,I brought up their children.I face death today like a sick woman regaining healthLike one come out after imprisonment.I face death today like the scent of myrrhLike sitting before the sail on a windy day.I face death today like the scent of the lotus,Like sitting on the edge of drunkenness.I face death today like a familiar road,Like a woman returning home from the battlefield.I face death today like the clearing of the skyLike a woman discovering the unknown.I face death today like a woman eager to see her homeAfter many years in captivity.–Egyptian Funerary Declaration, ca 2500-2000 BCE“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”–Nehemiah 8:10.

Thoughtful care and services provided by E. S. Eley & Sons Funeral Chapel, Inc.