Former Shorewood village clerk dies
By Clare Walters Correspondent November 28, 2012 10:32AM
Julia Russell
Updated: December 30, 2012 3:41PM
“Magical.”
That’s the word Shorewood Mayor Richard Chapman used to describe the late Village Clerk Julia Russell.
Russell, who’s served as village clerk for the last 23 years, died Thursday at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.
She was 76.
“It’s not that she could pull a rabbit out of a hat, but the woman was magical,” Chapman said during Tuesday’s village board meeting. “I never heard her say an unkind word about anybody. She never stood in the way of anyone.”
When reflecting upon Russell’s life and her more than 35 years of service to the village, Chapman said Russell was one-of-a-kind.
“We’re going to miss her,” he said. “We’ll miss her dearly not only in the work she did for the village, but as a person. I think it was a shock to everyone. We knew she wasn’t feeling well, but I know I wasn’t expecting that call.”
Russell is preceded in death by her husband, Harvey, who died Sept. 13.
“She loved her husband, Harvey, with a dedication that is hard to come by these days,” Chapman said.
The Russells are survived by a son, Chip Russell, his wife, Tere Lynn, and five grandchildren.
Julia Russell will lie in state at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Messiah Lutheran Church, Jefferson Street and Houbolt Road, Joliet. A service will begin at 10 a.m.
