VALE ASCHE (ACKERMAN) RUSSELL
1933-2020
Vale Asche Russell passed away peacefully on Friday, the 31st of January 2020. She was 86 years of age.
Born on the 12th October 1933, in Houston to Frederic Bermingham Asche and Grace Vale Asche, the first few years of her life were spent in Paris, France. As a toddler, she moved with her family to Houston. She attended The Kinkaid School when it was located on Richmond Avenue. For high school, Vale attended Miss Porter’s School in Connecticut. Her summers were spent at Camp Cimarroncito where she fell in love with horses. Vale attended Smith College, spending two years in Spain and majoring in Spanish.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude. After graduation she taught Spanish at The Kinkaid School and worked on two political campaigns.
Vale married Mike Ackerman in 1956 and raised two children. As a young mother, Vale volunteered at Bayou Bend after graduating from Miss Ima Hogg’s first docent class. Later, Vale devoted her time to the Junior League of Houston and was elected president for the 1969-1970 term. Summers were spent in Nantucket with her family.
Vale served on the Harris County Grand Jury, The Texas Medical Center Board and the Executive Committee of the Hermann Eye Fund.
In her later years, Vale loved working on the ValeAsche Foundation, which was founded by both her father and grandfather.
She preferred donating to “hands on” philanthropic organizations. Through the Vale-Asche Foundation she was able to support many charitable groups in the greater Houston and Harris County area.
Vale was a member of Christ Church Cathedral and Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. She was a member of The Bayou Club, the
River Oaks Country Club and the River Oaks Garden Club. Vale was a life-long Republican, a member of the Republican Party of Texas and the Republican Eagles.
Vale was preceded in death by her first husband, Marrion (Mike) Smith Ackerman, and by her second husband, John Leo Russell; her parents, Frederic and Grace Asche; her sister, Betty Ann Asche Murray and her brother, Frederic B. Asche, Jr. She is survived by her two children, Asche Ackerman and his wife Susan, and Sarah Ackerman Howell and her husband
JC; her stepchildren, John L. Russell, Jr. and his wife Dianne, and William W. Russell and his wife Suzanne. She is also survived by her three grandchildren, Ashley, Calin and Ross Asche Ackerman; and her step-grandchildren, Fendley, John Nelson, Vivian, and Cooper Russell. Vale is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
Her family wishes to thank all of the kind caregivers who helped her through the years and Griswold Home Care and its wonderful staff. We also wish to convey our sincere gratitude to Elia Acuna for her 35 years of devotion to our mother.
Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share remembrances of Vale during a reception to be held from two o’clock until five o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, the 10th of February, in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
Prior to the reception, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the Texas Children’s Hospital, 6621 Fannin St., Houston, TX, 77030; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030; The Junior League of Houston, 1811 Briar Oaks Ln., Houston, TX, 77027; or to the charity of one’s choice.
Please visit Vale’s online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with her family.