Joye Crissman Russell, of Richmond, Va., entered the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012, after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was 61 years old.
Visitation was held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, followed by a funeral at 7 p.m., at Bethany Place Baptist Church, 1501 South Providence Road, North Chesterfield, VA.
A second visitation will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, followed by a funeral at 6:30 p.m., at Ashley Heights Baptist Church, 10351 Aberdeen Road, Aberdeen. Private interment will be at Bethesda Cemetery, Aberdeen.
Joye was born Oct. 12, 1950, in Graham, to Glenn and Elaine Crissman, of Aberdeen. She was preceded in death by her father and by her brother Johnny.
She is survived by her mother; her husband of 42 years, Herman W. Russell, of Richmond; three children, Tina Lyon (Ed), of Raleigh, Brad Russell (Jo Anny), of Powhatan, Va., and Ryan Russell (Christie), of Clarksville, Va.; five siblings, Jennie Lewis (Wayne), Joel Crissman (Nancy), Jim Crissman (Barbara), Janice Everhart (Robbie), and Judy Davis (Kevin); and her nieces and nephews. The joys of her life were her eight grandchildren: Abbie, Nate, Caedmon, Chesed, Justin, Athan, Charisa and Holland.
Joye retired after 19 years of service with the International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, having served both in Malawi, Africa, and in the home office in Richmond.
Joye touched the lives of countless individuals as a powerful prayer warrior and through her lifelong work of Christian missions and ministry with her husband, both in America and overseas. She also enjoyed late night conversations, game nights and traveling with her beloved friends.
After discovering she had ovarian cancer Joye spent the next five years ministering to fellow chemo patients and spreading awareness about the disease.
She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the Baptist Global Response, 402 BNA Drive, suite 411, Nashville, TN 37217; or the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, 14 Pennsylvania Plaza, suite 1710, New York, NY 10122.