Jackie Russell

Jackie Russell, Ph.D. age 77, passed away Sunday, September 25, 2022, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Funeral services in Louisiana will be held on Friday, September 30, 2022 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, under the direction of Rose-Neath Funeral Home.  Funeral services in Gatesville, will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, October 3, 2022 at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel, 2425 E. Main St., Gatesville, with Rev. Stephen Schmidt officiating.  Dr. Russell’s funeral services in Gatesville, will be live streamed on his obituary page, for those wishing to view at www.scottsfh.com.  Interment will follow at Ater Cemetery.  Visitation with the family will be one hour prior to services at Scott’s Funeral Home. 

Jackie Paul Russell was born on August 19, 1945, in Hamilton, Texas, to Paul and Laura Hampton Russell. He grew up on a farm in Levita, Texas, which he always called his “happy place.” After earning his B.A. degree from Tarleton State University, Jackie served as a Military Engineer Specialist with the Army and Army Reserve and taught at the Gatesville State School for Boys. He obtained an M.S. in Computer Science from Florida Tech and holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas in Computer Science Teaching.  He was an outstanding leader with genuine drive and vision who made significant contributions to thousands of students over his 43 years of teaching. He was an educator at Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas, Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he retired in 2015. Dr. Russell was a world-renowned visionary in the development of Computer Information Systems.

Jackie’s hobbies were gardening and woodworking. He grew up doing carpentry and was a very talented furniture maker. What Jackie looked forward to most was large family gatherings to grill, tell funny family stories, and sit around a fire. He was a loving husband, dedicated father, and loyal friend who was adored by many and will be greatly missed.

Dr. Jackie Paul Russell’s awards and accomplishments include, “Business Programming Logic & Design” first edition and second edition textbook; The Jack and Louise Arthur Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence and Teaching, 1995 to 1996 from Tarleton State University; Piper Professor of 1997- Outstanding Scholarly and Academic Achievement; named as a Texas A&M University System Regents Professor at Tarleton State University, 1997 ; EDSIG President, 1998 and 1999; Northwestern State University Outstanding Service Award for Dedicated Service to the College of Business, 2003 ; Northwestern State University Distinguished Service Award for Information Systems Education Conference, 2003; Ben Bauman Award of Excellence, 2005; Northwestern State University Alumni Association Excellence and Teaching, 2005; Information Systems Educator of the Year, 2006; Recipient of the Lifetime AITP-EDSIG FELLOW Achievement Award, 2009; along with, Dr. Russell leading numerous National Championship teams at Northwestern State Univeristy.

Jackie is preceded in death by his parents and numerous loving aunts and uncles.

Jackie is survived by his wife of 43 years, Barbara Russell; children, Tammi George Chumbley and husband, Jon, Crista Russell, Billy George and wife, Karrie, and Jenny Russell Lazarus and husband, Timothy; grandchildren, Joshua Chumbley, Lauren Chumbley Moudy and husband, Nicholas, Emma George, Tyler George, Jeremy Colton Russell, and Courtney Russell; siblings, Jane Slemmons and husband, Alan and Ronnie Russell; uncle, Jimmie Russell; nieces and nephews, Amanda Russell Zbranek and husband, Joshua, Brooke Slemmons Jenkins and husband, Bob, and Whitney Russell Kinyaevskay and husband, George, Don Alan Slemmons, Jimbo Russell and wife, Stacy, Carson Russell, and Mason Russell.

The family asks in lieu of flowers, please donate to Northwestern State University’s College of Business through the Give tab on nsula.edu (notate “In Memory of Dr. Russell for COB” in the comments section) or the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod at lcms.org, or a charity of your choice.

Honoring Jackie as pallbearers will be Jon Chumbley, Joshua Chumbley, Billy George, Tyler George, Bob Jenkins, Tim Lazarus, Jimbo Russell, and Don Alan Slemmons; honorary pallbearers are Bobby Hill, Grady Hill, Ronnie Russell, Todd Russell, John Terrill, and Jimmy Don Thompson.