Marjoree Russell Bryant's Obituary
Ermine Marjoree Russell Bryant, age 87, was born in Ackerman, Mississippi on July 3, 1931 to Hubert Ottis Russell and Ermine Sisson Russell. She died March, 26, 2019 due to complications from a stroke. Marjoree grew up in Corinth, Mississippi where she graduated from Corinth High School. After attending Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi for two years, she transferred to Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1953. Marjoree Russell married Russell Edward Bryant of Memphis, Tennessee in June, 1953, and they lived in Monroe, Houma, and New Orleans, Louisiana until 1999 when they moved to Austin, Texas. After Russell Bryant’s passing in May, 2010, Marjoree remained in Austin as a resident of the Longhorn Village Retirement Community in Steiner Ranch until October, 2016 when she moved to Plano, Texas where her daughter could care for her daily. Throughout her life, Marjoree was active in Baptist and Presbyterian churches, serving as a church secretary, organist, and director of children’s and adult choirs. She was an involved member of various church music committees, women’s circles, local music clubs and music teacher’s associations. She also taught private piano lessons in her home in New Orleans for over 25 years. Her hobbies and interests included music, sewing, and bridge. Marjoree is preceded in death by her husband of fifty-seven years, Russell, her sister, Carolyn Russell Russell, and her brother, William Ottis “Billy” Russell. She is survived by her two sons, Douglas Edward and his wife, Rebecca, of Fort Worth, Texas; Thomas Russell and his wife, Carolyn, of Austin, Texas; and one daughter, Emily Bryant Ponder and her husband, Paul, of Plano, Texas. She is also survived by one sister, Frances Russell Laws and her husband, Richard, of Columbus, Mississippi plus six grandsons, Randall (and wife Alyssa and their daughters Megumi and Yuna), Peyton (and wife Bora and their daughter Sevasti), Jeffrey, William, and Benjamin Bryant and Hayden Ponder and one granddaughter, Claire Ponder. The family wishes to thank the physicians, staff, nurses, and assistants at Archway Hospice, Prestonwood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, and The Legacy at Willow Bend in Plano as well as Longhorn Village in Austin for the wonderful care provided during the past ten years. A funeral service will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, March, 31 at 11:30 a.m. with burial to follow the service. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 10900-B Stonelake Blvd., Suite 320, Austin, TX 78759.
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