David Lee Russell Obituary (2025)

David Lee Russell, age 71, went to his eternal home to be with his wife on March 8, 2025. David was born November 12, 1953, to Melvin and Florine Russell, in Huntington Park, California. David grew up in El Monte, California, and graduated from El Monte High School in 1971. David married Candace Fisher in 1978, and they had a son David (Deege) G. Russell in 1981. David got his cosmetology license in the early 80's and still enjoyed pulling out his expired license to show people and tell stories about doing hair. David lived in Los Alamitos, California and worked in Long Beach for many years. Although David and Candace parted ways, he has shared many wonderful memories and stories of their time together, and friends he had in California. David also shared many stories about his son, Deege growing up and how having his son was one of his greatest accomplishments in life. David went to work for McDonnell Douglas in September 1979. He loved planes, putting them together, and the people he worked with over the years, from McDonnell Douglas/Boeing. David retired from Boeing in 2014 and moved to Washington State. David was a member of the UAW Local 148 Long Beach, California. He took pride in his work at Boeing and building planes. He displayed awards from Boeing, C-17 photos, models, and enjoyed making models too. In 1999, David met his best friend and love of his life, Jackie Lee Downey, online. On December 26, 2004, they married in South Bend, Washington. They lived in Los Alamitos, until David fell ill with kidney disease. After starting dialysis in 2014, they moved to Washington to be close to Jackie's family. Jackie passed away suddenly in March 2018. David missed her every day. Retirement for David consisted of going to dialysis thtree days a week, caring for his two little chihuahuas, Buggy and Taz, and spoiling his two granddaughters, that have lived near him since he retired. In 2023, he moved across the street from his granddaughters, and he loved looking out his window or standing on his porch to watch them ride bikes and scooters, play, swing, and show him cool tricks. He loved them stopping by each day to give hugs, say 'hi', get a treat from Pappy, or to help him unload groceries. If you spent more than two minutes talking to David, you knew about his granddaughters and how much he loved them, and maybe even saw a picture of them. He loved them so much, he fought cancer, Crohn's disease, COPD, Renal Kidney failure and more, to see them another day. David has spent the last 11 years living near his son, Toby Downey, and daughter-in-law, Star, and his precious granddaughters, Paislee (Boo) and Hazeline (Tink). He enjoyed keeping in touch with his nephew, Josh Russell, and even took one last trip to San Diego to visit Josh and some of his Russell family members in August 2020. In his last days, his only wish was to be at home with his family and see his granddaughters as much as possible. He spent his last days telling stories of his mom, dad, brother, son, and other childhood memories. David was proud that he was a medical miracle living well beyond many doctors' expectations from a young age to most recent years. David was a simple man that loved Metallica music, Star Trek, Godzilla, Raider Nation, and he was always down for an In-'N-Out burger. He was the 'life of the party' at his Davita dialysis center, making others laugh and he made the best out of 11 years of dialysis. David was a cuddly gentle bear with a hidden roar! He was animated and told stories so loud you didn't know if he was yelling at someone or just telling a story. If you made him mad, he was not shy in letting you know. But he loved people, he loved life, and he was truly a simple man with a big heart. David and his family wanted to thank all the nurses, doctors, staff, and patients at Davita Dialysis Center in East Wenatchee, WA. It was his home away from home for the past 11 years. He thought very highly and was thankful to Dr. Mabel Bodell, MD, who cared for him for 11 years while on dialysis. David will be laid to rest at a later date, with his wife Jackie Lee, at Fern Hill Cemetery, in Menlo, WA. Brookside Funeral Home is caring for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.brooksidefuneral.com.