Celebration of Life Services for Everett Russell, 95, of Selby will be at 10 AM, Saturday, August 12, 2023, at the Selby Methodist Church. Inurnment will be at the Selby Memorial Gardens. Everett passed away Sunday, July 16, 2023, at the Walworth County Care Center in Selby. Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge is in charge of arrangements.

 

Everett Milton Russell, 95, (June 7, 1928 – July 16, 2023) was born to William and Odessa Russell at Selby, South Dakota.

After attending Hay Country School through the eighth grade, he began farming with his dad, and continued to farm there his whole life. He married Delores Deibert on July 15, 1951, and being together for 65 years until her death in 2016. He served in the Army from 1951-1953 and was an American Legion member in Selby for 70 years. In addition to raising four boys, he raised cattle, hogs, chickens, and milk cows. He owned a refrigeration and air conditioning business. In 1957, Everett won the DeKalb Twentieth Annual Corn Growing Contest in Walworth County with a whopping 65 bushel to the acre yield, and in 1958 he won the Outstanding Young Farmer Award. Everett was a 4-H Leader, a member of the Selby Methodist Church and a Gideon.

Everett spent most of his life doing what he loved – working. He gave his time and expertise, constantly looking for ways to help his extended family with electrical, plumbing, welding, or fix-it projects. He helped on the farm operating the sprayer and the combine well into his eighties. In his spare time, he worked in his shop making stained glass crosses and using his turning lathe to make beautiful pens and pencils that he gave away to many in the community.

In his long life, Everett saw agriculture evolve from cultivating corn with horses and pitching bundles into a threshing machine at harvest to the cutting edge of technology used today. Through the years, Everett continuously embraced change, always looking for ways to innovate by inventing, remodeling, or building something to make the job easier or more productive.  The project that he was most proud of was building a stack mover. He did custom stack moving for the neighbors hauling over 1,000 stacks.

Everett will be remembered by his family, friends, and neighbors as a man with a brilliant mind and with his many talents, he was able to diagnose and fix most everything. Refrigeration and air conditioning work was his favorite. He was willing to help anyone in need, often donating his time and much more to the cause. After the work was done, he enjoyed the socializing that followed.

Everett was described as a patient, calm, kind, level-headed, and generous man. The true definition of a gentleman. He was a humble man with a compassionate, caring, tender heart; concerned about everyone and their well-being. Everett was able to meet and greet people with his stories, his one-liners and his humor followed by his bits of wisdom that he would inject into the conversation.

In later years, the family has hundreds of memories of gatherings with Everett seated in his recliner, happy to be surrounded by his family of four generations.

Everett was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Delores, three brothers: Raymond, Robert and Bill, a sister, Leola and a daughter-in-law, Cheryl.

He is survived by 3 sisters, Helen, Juanita and Vi, one sister-in-law, JoAnn and one brother-in-law, Donald, and sister-in-law Claudia, four sons, 3 daughters-in-law, 13 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Son, Lauren (Pat), grandchildren, Nathan (Cheyenne) great grandsons Keegan, Kaden and Kysten; Philip (Chelsea) great grandchildren, Anniah, Rett, and Elias: Bethany (Matthew) McBride, great grandchildren Lincoln, Zoey, Veda, and Sutton: Grace (Rowdy) Torevell and great grandchild, Rebel: Son, Brad (Sonja), grandchildren Sarah (Robbie) Sawers, great grandchildren Arden and Juniper. Noah (Aimee LaFave), great grandchildren Rubiee, Noa, and Sunny: granddaughters Hannah Russell and Leah Braun: Son Arlen (Cheryl deceased) grandchildren, Curtis (Sheila) great grandchildren Jaxson and Rhett: Colin and (Jordan): Son, Doug (Jill) grandchildren, Connor, Ethan, and Anna.

 

 

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