Suzie Russell passed away surrounded by family on December 26, 2025, in Rock Island, Illinois, at the age of 87 years old. She was born Cẩm Thi Tran on June 5, 1938, in Saigon, Vietnam. She met and wed Ernest W. Russell, a member of the U.S. Air Force, during his service in Vietnam. Together with their son Hung, they moved to San Antonio, Texas, where their daughter Elizabeth was born shortly thereafter. Being a military family, they moved and lived in various locations in Japan before finally settling in Dayton, Ohio. Suzie continued to live there for nearly 49 years working in food service at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base until she retired.

Suzie was an enigma, even to her own family, and her early experiences in life made her a survivor. Fiercely independent and private, she was also headstrong and determined. Ever the hard worker, she single-handedly raised her two children after her husband Ernest passed away in 1978, emphasizing a desire for them to have higher education that she never received. The deaths of her parents while she was still young required her to leave school in order to work. While living frugally, she embraced fashion to heighten her appearance, something that continued until health issues made it unfeasible. She enjoyed traveling, visiting numerous countries including Canada, the Soviet Union, China, and Egypt. At different periods she took Tae Kwon Do lessons, crocheted, and volunteered with the homeless. She was also an avid walker and exercise enthusiast well into her early 80s. An amazing cook, she expressed her love most clearly through food. As a result of health issues in 2020, Suzie moved to Davenport, Iowa and then ultimately to Rock Island, Illinois to be closer to family.

She was preceded in death by her father Kim Van Tran, her mother Biết Thi Tran, her sister Tri Thi Tran, her husband Ernest Wayne Russell, her companion of nearly 30 years Richard Champlin, and her daughter-in-law Catherine Ann Liska. She is survived by her children Hung Quoc Russell and Elizabeth (Chris Dunn) Russell, her grandchildren Hannah (Jon Schoonhoven) Goodson-Russell, Zachary Russell, and Siobhán Dunn, her great grandson August Schoonhoven, her sister Khan Thi Tran, nieces and nephews from Vietnam, and her husband's cousin, Marilyn Ragsdale.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the KNOX CHAPEL of Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, 2106 7th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois. A luncheon will follow at the Parish House at First Lutheran Church in Rock Island. Her remains will be interred in the Russell family plot in the Salado Cemetery, Salado, Texas, at a yet-to-be specified date later in 2026.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the St. Joseph Evening Meal or a charity that addresses feeding the hungry or serving the homeless.

Online condolences and memories may be shared with Suzie’s family at www.wheelanpressly.com.