Ema Ruth Russell touched many lives and made many friends during her long life, those who knew her best said this week.
Born in Texoma in 1908, the former Ema Ruth Lindsey grew up in Memphis, Texas, and moved to Denton in the1920s. She graduated from Denton High School in 1925 and obtained a double bachelor's degree in music and music education from what is now Texas Woman's University. She then completed her master's degree in music education and began teaching in New Gulf.
She married Lawrence "Larry" G. Russell in 1942, and they decided to make Denton their home. After the birth of their daughter, Marie, she went on to teach elementary school from 1950 to 1956. She later accepted the challenge of starting a choral program at Denton High.
But it was after her retirement from the school district in 1971 that she really got busy, her friends said, and she pursued a passion for the arts that would burn brightly for 40 years.
She was a founding member of the Denton Community Chorus and the Greater Denton Arts Council and a co-founder of The Arts Guild. She also worked to raise funds for the Center for the Visual Arts, where the rehearsal space was named the Ema Ruth Russell Rehearsal Hall in her honor in 1985.
Russell died Sunday at age 103. She was honored many times for her contributions, but friends said it would be impossible to fully measure the extent of her influence.
"I really think her contributions to the development of the arts in Denton are immense," said Carol Short, a longtime friend and associate who now serves as executive director of the Denton Festival Foundation, which conducts the annual Denton Arts & Jazz Festival. "She laid the groundwork, and that is her legacy."
All of those who have worked in the arts in Denton owe a debt to Russell and some of her contemporaries, said Herbert Holl, director of the University of North Texas Institute for the Advancement of the Arts.
"I think a history of the arts in Denton without her in it would be very incomplete," he said.
Short said she came to Denton in 1974 and was involved in community theater when she met Russell, who had already been working with others to form the arts council as an umbrella organization for the emerging arts in Denton.
"We were introduced by a mutual friend and became instant pals," Short said. "Our passion for the arts was the same. My background was in music and dance, and I love community theater. The timing was right.
"We put our heads together. We wanted to do something to bring the arts groups together."
Russell and Short later co-founded The Arts Guild, which would play a large role in the development of the arts and serve as the fundraising arm of the arts council.A capital campaign followed that allowed the arts council to have a home.
Short said Russell was a major influence in her life.
"I called her my surrogate mother, as well as my mentor," Short said. "Marie, her only child, has shared her mom with me through the years. It's been good for all of us to have that."
Holl said he met Russell in 1987 when she was on the board of directors of the arts council.
"She was one of the people who interviewed me for my position," Holl said. He served as director of the arts council for more than 15 years during two stints at the job.
"I wasn't there in the early 1980s when they did the heavy lifting," he said, adding that he was impressed with Russell's enthusiasm for the arts and the two remained close.
"She was a strong-willed person," Holl said. "She had passion for music and for the other arts down to her bone. It was not simply an avocation; it was what she lived.
"She was one of the forces of nature. She just was."
Prentice Barnett agreed that Russell's enthusiasm was infectious. He met her in 1953 when he came to Denton to serve as assistant pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church.
"She was one of my dearest friends," he said. "She was always there, actively participating in the church."
Barnett, who with Russell was a charter member of the arts council, also served as the first president of the Denton Community Chorus.
Russell was a wonderful listener and constantly encouraged others, Barnett said.
"She always affirmed whatever you were doing," he said. "That was very much appreciated and heartwarming."
"She had a zest for life," Short said. "She lived life to the fullest. She helped so many people."
Russell's influence as a teacher was far-reaching, friends said. Her choirs often included more than 225 students, the groups regularly won awards in various University Interscholastic League competitions and individual students went on to garner honors. She was a member of Texas Music Educators Association, Delta Kappa Gamma, and a patroness of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, Iota Omega chapter at Texas Woman's University.
"Her students absolutely adored her in high school," Short said. "A lot of them still live in Denton. She loved being around young people and loved the way that younger people thought."
A memorial service for Russell is set for 3 p.m. today at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 300 W. Oak. St., where she was a member.
Russell is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Marie and Mike Lewis of Carrollton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, the Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton Public Library or a charity of choice.
LES COCKRELL can be reached at 940-566-6887. His e-mail address is lcockrell@dentonrc.com .
