Joe Alan Russell passed away in Denton, Texas on Sunday, April 9, 2023 at the age of 82. He passed peacefully after a battle with cancer.

Joe was born in Beaumont, Texas to Harvey, Sr. and Willie Russell on March 25, 1941. He attended Beaumont High School, where he played football, as well as baseball and basketball. He also sang in school and with the State Choir of Texas. Joe graduated in 1959. He married high school sweetheart Judy on April 2nd, 1963, and together they had 4 children.

After high school, Joe worked for Steadman, a food distribution company where he learned IBM punchcards (an early form of digital data processing). He served as a police officer from 1963 to 1967, worked as a newspaper distributor to help make ends meet, and also became the song leader at a Church of Christ during this time. A fellow church member helped him get a job at Norvell Wilder Supply, an oil supply company, working in their tabulation department. While there, a friend told him about IBM mainframe computers and Joe saw an opportunity. He spent a year studying and teaching himself how to program IBM mainframe computers. With his new knowledge, he sold his idea to the company owner, who believed in him and trusted him to be able to manage their inventory with a computer system.

During the oil boom of the early 80s, Joe moved to Houston, Texas with his family until the mid-80s oil bust, when they moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. He left Norvell Wilder Supply and in 1987, joined a global team of programmers in Little Rock, Arkansas hired to merge two IBM mainframe systems in Memphis and Little Rock. The job was done a year sooner than expected and he was offered a job on the spot, with his boss there calling him the best programmer he'd ever seen (to which Joe replied, "Well, you may be right. I don't know.").

Ultimately, Joe decided not to move his family to Little Rock and instead took a job with Sally Beauty Supply and moved to Denton, Texas in 1987, where he lived the rest of his life. He worked for Sally Beauty until 1997, when he began contracting until he joined CVS/Caremark in 2001. He worked for them until he retired in 2020.

Joe was a thinking man, hardworking with a good sense of humor and a heart of gold. He was a loving husband and father, helping raise 6 children (4 of his own, and 2 of his grandchildren). He enjoyed watching movies and reading, with a particular interest in sci-fi and history. Joe also had a love of music, something that he passed down to many of his children and grandchildren. He was a talented singer and guitar player. He could always be heard singing throughout the house.

He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Harvey, Jr., and daughter Erin.

Joe is survived by his wife Judy Russell, children Chris & wife Jill, Kevin & wife Robin, and Jennifer, grandchildren Nicholas & wife Criselle, Dixie, William, Cash, Guthrie, Lilly, and Harlan, and great-granddaughter Selah.

A graveside service will be held at Roselawn Memorial Park in Denton at 2PM, Friday, April 14, 2023.

In lieu of flowers, our family welcomes you to make a charitable donation in Joe's name to the American Cancer Society. If you would still like to send flowers, they can be sent to Bill DeBerry Funeral Home.