February 13, 1933 - October 17, 2025
Patricia May Russell, 92, a cherished family matriarch and accomplished quilter, died on October 17, 2025, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Born February 13, 1933, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Ralph and Elene Summers, Patricia’s life was devoted to family and her creative passion for quilting.
Following the death of her parents when Patricia was a child, she and her two siblings were raised by her loving and devoted grandmother, May Grever. She attended school in Tulsa and graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1951. She went on to graduate from Phillips University in 1955 and began a teaching career at Emerson Junior High School. She and Paul Russell, the love of her life, were married in 1956.
As children arrived, Patricia put her energy into raising them. She and Paul then jointly ran their business until Patricia began quilting in the late 1970s. What started out as therapy, quilting became a passion and then a business. For the better part of 40 years, Patricia taught thousands of quilters from around the world. For the past 25 years, she devoted herself solely to teaching. There are thousands of people who sleep every night under a quilt that was made with the love sewn (and sown) because of Patricia. She often said that the people she loves sleep under a quilt she made. As testament to this, a friend brought to the hospital in Oklahoma City last Friday the quilt Patricia had made for her high school graduation 40 years ago. Patricia died underneath that quilt and felt the love she had stitched more than four decades ago. She truly touched the lives of thousands.
Her granddaughters will always remember this: every time they visited, they learned something from her. She taught them how to cook, bake, sew, and embroidery. And if she wasn’t teaching, she was reading them a book, whether they liked it or not. They learned lifelong skills that they will pass along to their children. She was always a teacher. And her legacy will continue. 40 & 2.
Patricia is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 69 years, Paul Russell; her children Elizabeth Hope (Robert) Saunders, Allison Elene (Roy) Fuller, John David (Karen) Russell, Susan Lynn (Bradley) Schupp; grandchildren Rachel Diana Taylor, Emily May Russell (Andrew) Levy; Allison Elizabeth (Mitchell) Barton, Olivia Catherine (Chase) White, Roy Edward Fuller, Ashley Elizabeth Fuller, and Kristin Alyson (Michael) Colantuono; four great-grandchildren, Harper Ava White, Emerson Rose White, Parker John White, and Lucy Amelia Barton; and, coming soon, a fifth great-granddaughter, Nora Evelyn Barton. After her first granddaughter was born, she was known simply as Nana. And that’s the way we will always remember her.
Patricia was predeceased by her parents, grandmother, brother Charles Summers, and sister Rebecca Mullins.
A funeral will be held on Friday, October 24, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 401 W. Randolph Avenue, Enid. Reception following. A private family burial will follow under the direction of Henninger~Hinson Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers and to honor the memory of Patricia, please donate in her name to either of the following charitable organizations: 4R Kids Foundation or Oklahoma Westie Rescue. Donations can be made through Henninger~Hinson Funeral Home, 580-233-1700, 601 W. Broadway, Enid.
