Beulah Russell

Beulah Milligan Russell, 89, passed away Monday morning, December 1st, 2008, at Elizabeth House, Four Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care after a period of declining health. Born on April 9th 1919, in Knoxville, Tennessee, Mrs. Russell had been a resident of Asheville since 1955. She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Carl Russell and her sister, Edith Jones. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt. She is survived by her daughter, Janice R. Mullis and husband John of Arden; three grandchildren, Shannon Mullis of Arden, Jacob Mullis and wife Shea of Wilmington and Devon Mullis of Arden; one great granddaughter, Kayla Mullis of Arden and two nieces and nephews. She was a faithful member of Biltmore Baptist Church and the Homemakers Bible Fellowship Group for over 43 years. She taught 6th grade girls Sunday School and cared for the bed babies in the nursery for many years. She loved children and never met a baby that was not "just the cutest thing in the world." Mrs. Russell was given the nickname of "Dude" as an infant by her aunt and it stuck with her for her entire life. She was an avid sports fan, pulling for the Atlanta Braves and the University of North Carolina Tarheels' basketball teams as well as her grandchildren's baseball and softball, football and basketball teams. Later in life, she came to enjoy soccer, tennis, golf and even hockey. As a young lady, she was a scrappy high school basketball player for Powell High School in Tennessee and later went on to play women's industrial league basketball for the "Blue Circle" girls in Knoxville in the early 1940's. She said she would have loved to have played the game today. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, December 6th in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian on Long Shoals Road. The Rev. Harold Savell will be officiating. The family will receive friends following the service. Burial will be at Calvary Episcopal Church Cemetery, Fletcher, NC. Memorials may be made to Four Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731 where she received wonderful care and attention at Elizabeth House.