William Russell & Karen "Kay" McArtor Russell - 2015
MHS 1954 Graduates
William “Bill” Russell, class of 1949, and Karen “Kay” McArtor Russell class of 1954, were nominated to the Minerva High School Alumni Hall of Fame by Rosemary Vandegrift, class of 1957, and the Russells' family.
William is the son of Albert and Emma Russell, whose family moved to Minerva in 1944. During high school Bill was active in the Future Farmers of America Program. He played on various fast-pitch softball teams in the area before he graduated. Kay is the daughter of the Frank and Virginia McArtor of Minerva. She participated in Minerva High School band, choir, yearbook staff, and the Quill and Scroll Honorary Society for Journalism.
Bill served in Korea as a corporal with the U. S. Army during the Korean War. Upon his return to the states, he worked with his father in construction. Bill and Kay were married in 1954 by the Rev. Arthur Poll. It was at the First Christian Church that Bill became Sunday School Superintendent and served on the church board while Kay worked as the church secretary. Five years later the couple moved to Wisconsin, where Bill began studying at Milwaukee Bible College. The latter part of his college experience took place at Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1967 Bill was invited by Grace Missions International to use his knowledge of construction to build a dormitory for the Caribbean Grace Academy and the WCGB radio station on the mission property in Ponce, Puerto Rico. While living in Ponce, the couple conducted Bible classes and church services.
Returning to Minerva in 1969, Bill reestablished his construction business and the couple began a youth ministry at the Bayard United Methodist Church. Community films were sponsored and youth rallies were held at the former Minerva Jr. High School on Market Ave. A rally with professional football player Tom Barrington drew nearly 600 attendees. Bill established and directed Ohio Grace Youth Camp for over ten years using facilities at Camp Conestoga, Bob Boards Park, and Quaker Canyon Camp. Youth activities were made available to Minerva High School students in the basement of the skating rink after the football games. During those years, the Russells traveled with the Glory Singers. The group consisted of 20 young people who performed at various churches and organizations throughout the Midwest. Of the sixty appearances, a highlight was the national Grace Gospel Fellowship Convention at Sawmill Creek near Cleveland.
In 1975 Bill founded the Berean Bible Church of Alliance where he pastored for seven years. The church purchased the original Roxie Theater in Minerva and met there for several years before relocating in Louisville. In 1982 he accepted a call to the Grace Bible Church of Newaygo, Michigan.
Kay enrolled at Jordan College in Fremont, Michigan in 1985. She served on their Student Retention Committee graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1988 as Salutatorian with an Associate of Science degree. That fall she received a presidential scholarship to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. There she studied public relations and advertising while becoming a member of the Student Public Relations Society of America.
Her internship was served at the Advisory Center for Teens in Grand Rapids. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in communications.
Upon graduation, Kay began working as executive secretary for the pastor of the United Methodist Church in Muskegon, Michigan, supervising publications and office management. When the couple moved to Cadillac in 1990, Bill continued his ministry at the Grace Community Bible Church of Cadillac. Kay became clearing house coordinator for Love in the Name of Christ and served on their board of directors for five years. There she became a reporter and columnist for the Waterfront newspaper, taught Spanish at Heritage Christian School, and played clarinet in the Cadillac Symphony Orchestra.
The Russells moved to Fairhope, Alabama, in 1997, where he built new homes and served on the church board of Grace Bible Church. Kay taught Spanish, English, Science, journalism and government at Victory and Central Christian High Schools where she managed the newspapers and yearbook staffs. After her retirement, she conducted Spanish and writing classes and seminars. She was a member of the Baldwin Pops Band and Baldwin Christians Writers Association.
Kay is an author and editor who designs and develops fundraisers, creating printed materials for various non-profit organizations. In 2006 she published her first book From Christmas to Christmas, a family history. They retired in 2007, and the couple relocated to Holland, Michigan in 2011, where they now reside at 181 East 37"Street.
On June 21, 2014, nearly one hundred family and friends honored the couple at the Minerva Senior Center for their sixty years of marriage. Congratulations were received from “Focus on the Family,” “Family Talk Radio” and the Ohio Senate.
The Russells have six children: Cindy Lippincott of Fairhope, Alabama; Kimberly (Troy) Haynam of Alliance; Pastor William (Tricia) Russell of Allendale, Michigan; Lisa (Harold) Kimbel of Zeeland, Michigan; Terry (Jodie Marie) Russell of Wayland, Michigan; and Jody (Sue) Russell of Cadillac, Michigan. They consider their nineteen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren among their finest accomplishments.