Joe Franklin Russell

Joe Franklin “Mighty Joe” Russell, age 81, passed away Friday, May 4, 2018 at Oxford Health and Rehab in Oxford, MS. Joe was the widower of the late Annie Mae Yon Russell.

Funeral services will be at 5:00 P.M. Monday, May 7, 2018 in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with interment to follow in Cold Springs Cemetery near Sardis, MS. The family will be receiving friends Sunday evening from 5:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Wells Funeral Home and also one hour prior to the funeral service on Monday.

Joe was born October 8, 1936 in Sardis, MS to the late James Vardaman and Beulah Saunders Russell. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service in Memphis, TN after thirty years of service as a mail sorter and was a member of the Cold Springs United Methodist Church.

In his youth, Mr. Joe Russell was better known as 'Mighty Joe' to his classmates at the Mississippi School for the Deaf.  Joe did not let his handicap restrict his usefulness.  He performed on the football field skillfully and was named on the 1956 All Southern High School quad. Joe was also outstanding in track, basketball and was sought by all the major colleges of the state. In 1957, Joe broke the state shot put record by a foot and six inches in the South Mississippi track meet at Mississippi Southern setting a 53 foot, 11 3/4-inch record.  But, Joe's most significant honor was an international one.  He was one of two Mississippians who competed in the Deaflympics in Rome, Italy in August of 1957.  All of Joe's practice and determination paid off when he actually WON the gold medal for Shot Put!!!!  As a matter of fact, Joe competed in several Deaflympics and won even more gold and silver metals.  He is still lovingly called 'Mighty Joe' and continues to be an inspiration to all who knows him. Joe is a big guy but has an even bigger heart and a smile that warms everyone who comes into contact with him.  It just goes to remind me, everyone, young or old, has a story to tell, and its great if you sit and listen.

Joe’s loving memory will be cherished by his daughter, Mary Ann Russell of Sardis, MS; son, Joey Edward Russell of Sardis, MS; sister, Diann Jennings-Kelly of Olive Branch, MS; four grandchildren, Robin and Rebecca Russell both of Sardis, MS, Heather and Peggy Rayner of Jackson, MS; eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

In addition to his wife and parents, Joe was preceded in death by a son, Jeffrey Lee Russell; grandson, Joey Russell, and a brother, Jimmy Russell.