Lynne Russell She is 54 years old and lives at an assisted living facility where caregivers, family and friends provide support. She has three sons, one in high school and two in college who live within 15 minutes with her ex-husband. They visit regularly when they’re not working, attending school, or studying. She has a brother and sister with families who constantly share with her on media and travel to visit her on holidays or weekends.
She began a career in 1989 as a human resources professional responsible for the full range of leadership development, training, recruitment, performance management and compensation. She began at Microsoft in the US and Asia, and served as Recruiting Manager at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She had various roles in start-up tech firms and as an independent executive recruiter, even briefly in Germany to use her fluent German working for Amazon. In 2008 when her boys were in elementary school, she quit working and borrowed on federal student loans to earn a Master in Teaching at Seattle University. From 2009 to 2017 she taught special education to low-income diverse populations in public elementary schools in Renton and Seattle. She was one of the few to receive loan forgiveness for her devotion. She retired in 2017 when she was diagnosed with dementia from Alzheimer’s.
Dad: I retired two-days before turning 60 (I brag that I retired at 59) after a career in business, community service and education, ending as a community college Dean for business and computer technology. My wife and I moved to be near our children where we continued our interests in outdoor activities, traveling and community service, including a newspaper column in a small neighborhood weekly. In 2018 we moved to live near Lynne after she was diagnosed to better care for her. In September 2019, my wife died after 55 years of marriage. That November, I moved to an apartment in Seattle across the street from Lynne’s assisted living facility.
Family Members
Grammy Dad’s mother developed Alzheimer’s before she was 65, but wasn’t diagnosed until she moved in with Dad’s family.
Children Dad and Mom had three children: Lynne, a younger brother and her youngest sister.
Grandkids Lynne had twin boys in 1997 and her 3rd in 2002. Her brother has two girls. Sister is married with no children.