Russell - Almira
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal Friday, 20 May, 1898
Almira, daughter of Dr. Joseph and Mary Russell, was born July 23, 1848, and died May 9, 1898. In 1862 she gave her heart to Jesus and to the time of her death lived a consistent life. She read the scriptures daily. To select a passage and write an explanation of it was her enjoyment. She has held office in the Sunday school from primary teacher to superintendent and was active in all departments of church work. Her meat and drink, as she often expressed it, was to do her Master’s will. For some time she was a sufferer, though few of her most intimate friends knew of it. She died at Eastman’s Sanitarium in Indianapolis. On taking leave from her home for a surgical operation, her parting words were, “Pray for more faith, live as nearly right as you can, and if we never meet on earth again, let us meet in Heaven.” She was serious but cheerful, and said she was not afraid to die. Even her last goodbye from the carriage was spoken with a smile. She left a letter to be opened in case of death, in which she arranged all the details of her own funeral. She had a special message for all and left it in such tender form that it will ever be their most precious treasure. The closing words of her letter were these: “I feel that the Lord is gracious to me and I believe He will save me. Will we meet again?”
Her faith in Christ, her devotion to her church, her patience in suffering, and her courage in the face of death can never be forgotten. She played a noble part; she overcame in life and is now at rest. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”
Funeral services were by the writer at the Christian Church in Waveland, of which the deceased had always been a member.