Obituary

Joyce Russell Services for Joyce Elaine (Geisler) Russell, 84, of Hale Center, Texas, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, in the First Baptist Church with the Rev. Kris Knippa and Brother Carol Green officiating. Burial will follow in the Hale Center Cemetery under the direction of Abell Funeral Home & Flower Shop of Hale Center. The family will gather to receive friends at the Family Center at Abell Funeral Home from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14. Joyce lost a 25 year battle with Parkinson's disease on Wednesday, Aug. 12, in Plainview, Texas. She was born April 22, 1931, in Alva, Oklahoma, to Evelan and Lela (Bevis) Geisler. Joyce first attended school in an experimental program at North Western University at the age of 5. The family moved to Oklahoma City when she was 10 years old and lived there for many years. Joyce was active in student government and graduated with honors from Capital High School in Oklahoma City, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. Shortly after graduation, she began working for the Oklahoma University Hospital with duties in the Cancer Center of the hospital. It was during this time she met her future husband Gordon Russell, who was a student at the hospital. They married July 8, 1951, while Gordon was in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict. Joyce was a member of the First Baptist Church of Hale Center, where she taught third grade Sunday school for 27 years. When her children were older, Joyce advanced her education by attending Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. She retired from Hi-Plains Hospital, Hale Center, after 29 years of service. After her retirement, Joyce remained involved in many community activities, to include Friends of the Hale Center Library in which she was very active. Joyce loved to travel, and the couple toured extensively in Europe and visited all of the states except for North Dakota. Hawaii was her favorite, and they visited there on several occasions. She was preceded in death by a brother, Ronald Dean Geisler in 1973. She is survived by Gordon, her husband of 64 years, and her children, Gordon "Howie" Russell of Amarillo, Texas, and Elaine Wygant and husband Roger of Clovis, New Mexico. She is also survived by four grandchildren, Jonathan Russell of Amarillo, Elizabeth Russell Ferris and husband Travis and Bryan Wygant all of Austin, Texas, and Tonya Wygant of Clovis, New Mexico, and a great-granddaughter, Jaidyn Paige Russell of Hale Center. The family suggests memorials be sent to the Hale Center Public Library, 609 Main St., Hale Center, TX 79041.