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Donna <I>Andrews</I> Russell

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Donna Andrews Russell

Birth
Lakewood, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
Death
16 Oct 2019 (aged 65)
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA
Burial
Pewee Valley, Oldham County, Kentucky, USA GPS-Latitude: 38.3030315, Longitude: -85.477512
Memorial ID
View Source
Russell, Donna Andrews, 65, of Pewee Valley, KY, died October 16, 2019 at Norton Brownsboro Hospital of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She was born April 5, 1954 in Lakewood Hospital, Lakewood, OH. She grew up in Bay Village, OH with her 3 sisters, Bertie, Claire and Elizabeth and her parents, Jim and Jean Andrews.

In 1971 the family moved to Pompano Beach, FL where she finished high school then enrolled at UK in 1972 to return closer to her Ohio roots. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1976 from the Journalism College. That summer she started writing advertising copy at the Courier Journal, the beginning of her marketing career. Next was Advertising Director at Byck's, then Manager, Marketing Services at United Kentucky Bank, then Manager of Marketing Services NKC, Inc. (Norton Kosair Children's Hospital), introducing the marketing function to the hospitals, and finally Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Baptist Hospital East until 1997.

Her free-lance writing kept her busy with regional hospitals, Home Builders of Louisville (Homearama) and Louisville Magazine. As the Pewee Valley Historian, her writing was focused toward the city's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary), occurring on March 14, 2020.

In 2014, she was honored by the Oldham County Historical Society as a Living Treasure in recognition of her work. She also was honored by the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort in 2017 for her volunteer service to the community. This award enabled the Pewee Valley Historical Society to win a state grant for the museum, which was funded by Brown-Forman. The museum will be named The Donna Andrews Russell Pewee Valley Museum. In 2018, she was inducted into the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In 1977 she married David Russell and as they started their family (Tess and Alex), they restored their first historical house in the Portland neighborhood. Their 2nd restoration is known as Edgewood. Both houses are on the National Register.

Her passions of the last decade had been her 3 grandchildren, her gardens at Edgewood, and Pewee Valley history.

She is survived by her husband of 42 years David, two daughters, Anastasia (Tess) Kurtz (Charles) and Alexandra (Alex) Longstreet (Andrew); three grandchildren, Millie Longstreet, Benton and Lachlan Kurtz, and her sister Claire Andrews.

Russell will be laid to rest in the town she loved at the Pewee Valley Cemetery.

The original historic stones that are part of the couple's Edgewood property, which had been missing for over 25 years, will be used to memorialize her.

"So where it all started, this house in Pewee, some of the original steps that were discarded are going to be used for her monument," David Russell explained.

On that side of that monument, it's going to say, "sit with me and tell me your family Pewee history."

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to the Pewee Valley Historical Society, PO Box 769, Pewee Valley, KY 40056 in support of Donna's Museum.
Russell, Donna Andrews, 65, of Pewee Valley, KY, died October 16, 2019 at Norton Brownsboro Hospital of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She was born April 5, 1954 in Lakewood Hospital, Lakewood, OH. She grew up in Bay Village, OH with her 3 sisters, Bertie, Claire and Elizabeth and her parents, Jim and Jean Andrews.

In 1971 the family moved to Pompano Beach, FL where she finished high school then enrolled at UK in 1972 to return closer to her Ohio roots. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1976 from the Journalism College. That summer she started writing advertising copy at the Courier Journal, the beginning of her marketing career. Next was Advertising Director at Byck's, then Manager, Marketing Services at United Kentucky Bank, then Manager of Marketing Services NKC, Inc. (Norton Kosair Children's Hospital), introducing the marketing function to the hospitals, and finally Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Baptist Hospital East until 1997.

Her free-lance writing kept her busy with regional hospitals, Home Builders of Louisville (Homearama) and Louisville Magazine. As the Pewee Valley Historian, her writing was focused toward the city's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary), occurring on March 14, 2020.

In 2014, she was honored by the Oldham County Historical Society as a Living Treasure in recognition of her work. She also was honored by the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort in 2017 for her volunteer service to the community. This award enabled the Pewee Valley Historical Society to win a state grant for the museum, which was funded by Brown-Forman. The museum will be named The Donna Andrews Russell Pewee Valley Museum. In 2018, she was inducted into the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In 1977 she married David Russell and as they started their family (Tess and Alex), they restored their first historical house in the Portland neighborhood. Their 2nd restoration is known as Edgewood. Both houses are on the National Register.

Her passions of the last decade had been her 3 grandchildren, her gardens at Edgewood, and Pewee Valley history.

She is survived by her husband of 42 years David, two daughters, Anastasia (Tess) Kurtz (Charles) and Alexandra (Alex) Longstreet (Andrew); three grandchildren, Millie Longstreet, Benton and Lachlan Kurtz, and her sister Claire Andrews.

Russell will be laid to rest in the town she loved at the Pewee Valley Cemetery.

The original historic stones that are part of the couple's Edgewood property, which had been missing for over 25 years, will be used to memorialize her.

"So where it all started, this house in Pewee, some of the original steps that were discarded are going to be used for her monument," David Russell explained.

On that side of that monument, it's going to say, "sit with me and tell me your family Pewee history."

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to the Pewee Valley Historical Society, PO Box 769, Pewee Valley, KY 40056 in support of Donna's Museum.


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