Ruth Russ

Ruth Beach Russ of Easton, MD, died on Friday, May 30, 2014, at the Gardens at William Hill Manor. She was 90. Mrs. Russ was born in Vernon, OH, to the late Philip Beach and Elsie Malmsberry Beach on October 21, 1923. She graduated from Vernon High School in 1941 and attended Business College. She married Kenneth Lee Russ in 1946. Ruth and her husband, a career military officer retired to her husband’s native Talbot County in 1960 and settled at “Chestnut Grove” on Goldsborough Creek. Ruth helped manage her and her husband’s business, Russ Oil Company, and a popular restaurant and nightclub, The Talbot Lounge, during the 60’s and 70’s. She enjoyed life on the Eastern Shore and could be seen driving around Easton in her 1972 red Corvette convertible. She loved to cook and bake and made a mean crabcake. She was an accomplished cake decorator and beekeeper. She tended to over 30 beehives and pressed and sold the honey. She was an avid genealogist, amateur horticulturist, stamp collector and loved reading murder mysteries. She enjoyed traveling and was part of the second civilian ship allowed into Germany after World War II, experiencing war-torn Germany first hand. She lived in the British Zone of Germany, while her husband served as a juror at the Nuremberg Trials. Ruth is survived by four children, Joan Becker (Joel) of Owings Mills, David Russ (Susan) of Cambridge, MD, Douglas Russ of Easton, MD, and Kenneth Russ, Jr. of Owings Mills, MD. She is also survived by a sister, Janet McCullough of Centerville, OH; three grandchildren, Stacey Becker, Brittany Russ and Evelyn Russ; and one great-grandchild, Jaynna Becker. Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Ken of 55 years; a brother, Roy Beach; and two grandchildren, Jason Becker and Jeffrey Russ. A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 6, 2014, at 12 noon at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., 200 S. Harrison Street, in Easton where friends may call one hour prior. She will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside her husband Major Kenneth Lee Russ, U.S. Army Retired. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675.

Ruth Russ

October 21, 1923 - May 30, 2014