Myra Nell Duff Armstrong Russell

Myra Nell Duff Armstrong Russell, 86, of Monroe, LA, went to be with her Lord and Savior, on Wednesday, February 11, 2015, at St. Francis Medical Center after a brief illness. The family will receive visitors at New Destiny Assembly of God Church on Finks Hideaway Rd. from 2:00 PM until service time, with a service for Mrs. Russell to follow at 3:30 PM, Saturday, February 14, 2015, with Rev. Mickey Cheshier officiating, under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Sterlington Road, Monroe. Interment will follow at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery. Her grandsons and great grandsons will serve as pallbearers.Nell Russell owned and operated Nell’s Beauty Shop in Monroe for many years. Later in life, she moved to Toledo Bend and had her shop there until she retired; moved to Gilbert, LA, and later returned to Monroe.Mrs. Russell, affectionately nicknamed “Pidgeon” by her late husband when they first met in Winnsboro, LA, in the mid-forties, was not only a loving and compassionate mother, wife, grandmother, great grandmother, and great, great grandmother; she was a beloved aunt to all her siblings’ children, offering them her unconditional love and wisdom. Mrs. Russell was the last of seven siblings living. Preceding her in death, were her parents, Tom and Maude Duff of Caldwell Parish; brothers, J.B. and Vertis Duff; and sisters, Helen Hatten, Juanita Sypert, Jimmy “Billie” Taylor, and Martha “Mott” Madden. Others preceding her in death included her first husband and father of her four children, G.T. Armstrong; her husband, Hoyt Russell; and one grandson, John Timothy Graves.Survivors include her children, Janis McDonald and husband, S.T., of Winnsboro, LA, Gary Armstrong and wife, Sheila, of Monroe, LA, Randy Armstrong and wife, Tracy, of Farmerville, LA, and LaTisha Lux and husband, R.J., of Monroe, LA. Mrs. Russell had seven grandchildren, whom she dearly loved; the first, her namesake, Myra Denise, dubbed her “Nonnie,” she has been “Nonnie” to Denise and her husband, Davis, of Monroe, Johnette Quijas Pitre and spouse, Jimmy, of Ville Platte, LA, Kathy Lewis, and Mark Armstrong and wife, Jennifer, all of Monroe, Lisa Spillers and husband, Chad, of Baton Rouge, LA, Brian Armstrong and wife, LeeAnn of Chapel Hill, NC, and April Shannon and husband, Michael, also of Monroe. More recently, she welcomed two step-grandchildren, Carol McDonald and Jennifer Tarver into her family loving them as her own.“Nonnie’s” great grandchildren include Dave Hardy and wife, Kelsey, Derek Hardy, Victoria Quijas, Brandon and Dylan Lewis, Caleb and Colby Armstrong, Amilee, Hicks, and Grey Spillers, Meredith Armstrong, Cameron Shannon, and two step-grandchildren, Sara and Jon Tarver. In 2014, Myers Davis Hardy became “Nonnie’s” first great, great grandchild, marking a fifth generation heritage for her long and fruitful life.Nell Armstrong Russell inspired others to love God and family and to always love unconditionally, but she was a straightforward person who would also tell one when she believed that he/she may be making foolish choices for him/herself. In years past, she took in those needing a home, “adopting” them as her own for as long as they needed her. These included her nephew, Retired USAF Colonel Mike Nelson, when he began his secondary education at Northeast (ULM); Mike continues to be very attentive to Mrs. Russell’s and her family’s needs.Mrs. Russell was a member of Collegetown Assembly of God Church (presently known as New Destiny) in Monroe for over 50 years, where she served as a vocalist in both choir and varied small groups and taught a Sunday School class, always actively involved in all aspects of her church family.Nell, Mom, Momma, “Nonnie,” “Grand Nonnie,” and “Aunt Pidgeon” will be sorely missed by her immediate family as well as a multitude of nieces, nephews, and friends. All will miss her wisdom, wit, faith in God, and infectious laughter, none of which ever waned with age and served to inspire all who knew her until her death.Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.comMulhearn Funeral HomeSterlington RoadMonroe, LA