Elizabeth Maslin House Russ, of Raleigh, North Carolina, passed away peacefully July 10, 2021 at Universal HealthCare, Raleigh NC. She was 98.
‘Mas’ was born on May 24, 1923, daughter of Charles Henry and Anna Frances Hoyland House in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Plattsburgh, New York. She attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia where she met her husband, Zack Russ, Jr, a medical student at Emory. They were married in Albany, New York and moved to several locations while her husband was in the Navy. They eventually settled in Tampa, Florida, and lived there many years until the marriage ended in divorce. Our Mom continued living in Tampa, then Daytona Beach, and then Gainesville before moving to Italy to be near her daughter and grandchildren. After a year, she returned to live in Cary, North Carolina, and finally Raleigh, where she would live out her days.
Our Mom was an inspiration and a role model: she went back to school to earn her degree (University of Tampa) after a 20-year break while raising her children, went on to get her Master’s degree (University of South Florida) in Rehabilitation Counseling and later worked as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Our Mom’s combination of empathy and fearless sense of purpose helped countless at-risk children and families during her more than thirty-year professional career, which she retired from at the young age of 82.
She is survived by her three daughters, Lin (Glenn) Young (Christiansburg, VA), Donna Sue Russ Smith (Bologna, Italy), Daryl Mullee (Gainesville, FL), and two sons, Zack Russ III (Darnestown, MD), and Brett (Diane Tilley) Russ (Durham, NC); one son, David, is deceased. She is blessed to have 11 grandchildren: Sara Bartlett, Joel Young, Zachary Russ, Jennifer Smith, Joshua Morigi, Kathleen Linero, Brynnan Russ, Ananda Keator, Erin Keator, Charles Keator, and Kirby Varnadoe-Russ; and 9 great grandchildren: Hayes, Graydon, Brock and Truett Bartlett; Charlotte and Cole Young; Federico and Josephine Rossini; Clara Linero.
Our Mom will be remembered for her wry sense of humor, love of all things family, and sharp tongue! She had a deep faith in God and raised her children as Presbyterians.
The family plans a memorial service at a future date. In honor of her memory, donations may be made to: Necessities Pantry or Bobcat Backpack Program c/o Presbyterian Church of Radford, 201 Fourth Street, Radford, VA, 24141; or TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers), 1820 James Street, Durham NC 27707 (or trosainc.org). Please visit Mom’s memorial page at https://www.stricklandfuneralhome.net/.
Service of Strickland Funeral Home & Crematory, Louisburg.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Maslin "Mas" H. Russ, please visit our floral store.