James Dennis Russell

GERMANTOWN, TN - James Dennis Russell, 79, of

Germantown, TN, died on September 23, 2021. Jim was born November 30, 1941, in Decatur, Illinois.

Though grieved by his passing, his loving family feels joyful and grateful for the gift of his brilliant mind and kind soul. Jim is survived by his wife, Kay; his children, Brad Russell (Katy), Nina Sublette (Greta),

John Sublette (Carina), and Bill Sublette (Natasha); his grandchildren, Emma, Katie, Brittany, Matthew,

Tait, Duncan, William, and Luke; his brother-inlaw, Charles Hanebuth (Carol); his cousin, Wayne

Russell; and two nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harmon and Florence Russell, and his sister, Carol Payne.

With his gentle and encouraging manner, Mr. Russell offered wisdom and inspiration to hundreds upon hundreds of students for 48 years as an English instructor at Memphis University School, while also serving as a sapient mentor to many a young faculty member. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and his master’s degree from Vanderbilt University before joining the Memphis University School faculty in 1965.

Freshly plucked from the graduate teaching program at Vanderbilt University by the headmaster at MUS, Col. Ross Lynn, Jim was eager to see the school for the first time. He stepped off the milk train from Nashville and hailed a cab to deliver him from downtown Memphis to his first teaching job. The driver emphatically shook his head at the address Jim provided, saying, “Park Avenue doesn’t go out that far.” Confident that the street number was correct, Jim persuaded the skeptical driver to proceed. As their journey neared the end of Park Avenue, it appeared as though the cab driver had been correct. Just as they were wondering whether to give up and turn around, the two spied a small brick building on a hill in the distance. The young Mr. Russell insisted that the driver proceed eastward into woods, over fields, and onto undeveloped land, where he saw with delight what he recognized in each new class of students: “A blank canvas. So many possibilities.”

In 1969, Mr. Russell became Chair of the English Department, a position he held for the next 44 years. Aloof from faction and beloved by his fellow teachers, he provided balance and harmony among all with whom he worked. In the words of the apostle Paul, he “clothed himself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col. 3:12).

A man of immense knowledge, strong character, genuine civility, and deep humility, Mr. Russell conducted his classes with grace and gentility. He taught English courses at all levels, as well as electives in Shakespeare, British Literature, Southern Renaissance, Utopia and Satire, and Modern Literature. His breadth of knowledge allowed him also to teach courses in Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation, Advanced Placement Art History, and Humanities, an especially impactful course remembered by all who took it from him. “Entering his classroom was like entering his living room, or his study,” remembered English professor, author, and poet William Ruleman ‘75. “Our readings of Kant, Rousseau, Hegel, and other great thinkers in his humanities course have stood me in good stead, coming back again and again whenever I’ve drawn a blank at the blackboard while trying to explain the philosophical influences upon literary periods.”

Mr. Russell was instrumental in developing the widely respected MUS English curriculum and played a significant role in building the academic excellence at MUS. Along with department colleague Terry Shelton, he created and published The Owl English Handbook, a valued reference book for students and faculty since 1985. Many MUS alumni keep The OEH, as it’s fondly called, in their offices for quick reference decades later. Mr. Russell held the Sue Hightower Hyde Chair of English and received the Jean Barbee Hale Award for Outstanding Service, the John M. Nail Outstanding Teacher Award (1991, 2008), and the school’s first Distinguished Teaching Award. He was conferred MUS Honorary Alumnus status in 1990. Mr. Russell served as chairman of the Graduation Committee from 1994-2012 and as advisor to the Cum Laude Society from 1968-2012.

The Tennessee Association of Independent Schools honored Mr. Russell with the Loyalty Award and the Hubert Smothers Award for distinguished teaching and dedicated service.

Speaking on the occasion of his retirement from MUS, Mr. Russell remembered feeling from the start that he and the school were a good match. “I became a teacher largely because the subject matter drove me,” he said. “I’ve always loved literature, writing, and grammar. Teaching gave me the opportunity to make those subjects my life’s work. Beyond that, collaborating with my fellow teachers was always stimulating and watching students gain understanding of the subject matter very rewarding. The enlightenment of students sustained me.

I’ve had the ability to create my own lesson plans, design my own courses, and make some innovations along the way,” he said. “It’s been very satisfying on many levels. Beyond scholarship, there’s a great deal of tradition here. And I don’t mean tradition just for tradition’s sake. The traditions observed at MUS are for the coherence of society and offer a foundation from which students can go forward.”

“Over the years, I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity that teaching has given me to develop personal interests, particularly in art and music,” Russell said. “I’d never really studied these subjects in depth before I started teaching them, so it was a wonderful chance to expand my own horizons.”

Mr. Russell was a gentleman of impeccable integrity, an unpretentious scholar, an accomplished artist, and a proficient musician. He was a man, in Tennyson’s words, whose manner inside and outside the classroom exhibited “high thought and amiable words and courtliness and love of truth and all that makes a man.”

Jim Russell was a communicant of St. George’s Episcopal Church, where he served as a member of the Vestry, a member of the choir, a Lay Eucharistic Minister, and a lector. Along with fellow parishioner Leonard Hughes, Jim wrote St. George’s Episcopal Church Germantown, Tennessee, The First Twenty Years, still an authoritative history of St. George’s Episcopal Church.

The family is especially grateful for his caregivers at Methodist Hospice Residence.

Funeral services will be at St. George’s Episcopal Church on October 23, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. with an interment in the columbarium immediately following. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Memphis University School or St. George’s Episcopal Church.