Antoinette Cole RUSSELL

RUSSELL, Antoinette Cole


Antoinette Cole Russell of Suffield, formerly of Windsor, 84, passed away July 28, 2013 surrounded by her loving family. She was born Jan. 8, 1929, the twin of Edward Stone Russell in New Haven to Earle Stone Russell and Emily Kelley Russell. Toni was beloved by all who knew her; she was gentle, kind, generous, pure of heart and very funny. She graduated from Windsor High School in 1947, and worked her entire career at Aetna Fire, then CIGNA, until retiring in 1992. Throughout her life, until recent years, Toni was an avid and adventurous traveler, visiting Paris, London, the Basque Country, Hawaii, Banff, many of the National Parks, Alaska, taking a cruise from Seattle to San Francisco, white-water rafting, hot air ballooning, and making friends all along the way. Toni is survived by her brother, Walter Earle Russell of Enfield (formerly of Windsor) and sister-in-law Cynthia Johnson Russell, nieces Allyson Davis and her husband Damien of West Simsbury, Kelley Scott and her husband Richard of Enfield, Jennifer Benson and her husband Brad of Granby, nephew Robert Russell of Windsor, great nieces and nephews Ashley Rhodes and her husband Paul, Elisabete Fox and her husband Seth, Emily Davis, Ana Arruabarrena, Nicholas Russell, Andrew Davis, Hannah Davis, Julia Benson, Alexandra Benson, and great-great niece Sydney Fox. Her family and friends were important to her, and, as much as she enjoyed playing bingo at Suffield by the River, she would miss it in a heartbeat, to receive visitors. Toni's brownies—a decadent recipe she willingly shared—she made for friends far and wide, neighbors, family, special occasions of her church family, for her nieces' office mates, for shops all over Windsor, including her friends at Creative Fibers yarn shop—her home-away-from-home. Toni was a lifelong member of Trinity United Methodist Church, where she had many friends, helped with the rummage sale, was a member of United Methodist Women, counted the offering for decades and was a helping hand wherever she was needed. Another of Toni's loves was knitting, and she knitted mittens, hats, baby blankets and prayer shawls whenever someone was in need. She was recently knitting a pink blanket for Ashley and Paul's baby-on-the-way, whom she called Suzy-Q. Toni was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her family is grateful to the staff at Suffield by the River who took such compassionate care of her over the last year and a half.
Toni's family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 31, from 9-10 a.m. at Carmon Windsor Funeral Home, 807 Bloomfield Ave., Windsor, CT. A funeral service will follow at 10 a.m., followed by burial at Palisado Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Earle S. Russell Scholarship Fund at Trinity United Methodist Church, 180 Park Ave., Windsor, CT 06095. Carmon Funeral Home has care of the arrangements.