Russell Wiley

11/11/1950 - 11/04/2025

November 11, 1950 - November 4, 2025
Russell Elliott Wiley, 74, died peacefully at Inova Alexandria Hospital on November 4, 2025. She was born on November 11, 1950, Veterans Day, in Richmond, Virginia. She was a bright, kind, and loving human being. Russ grew up Virginia—Richmond, and then Bowling Green, and then Lynchburg—and went to E.C. Glass High School where she graduated with distinction. She then attended the University of Richmond, Westhampton College. After two years there, she transferred to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she graduated in 1973. At Vanderbilt in a physiological psychology class she went to Russ Davis to borrow his class notes. She was very surprised to learn that he had the same first name—Russell. He had just gotten back from serving in the U.S. Army in Europe. They started dating and stayed together for 53 years until now. She graduated with distinction from Vanderbilt University with a major in Psychology. Russ then attended graduate school in Sociology at Vanderbilt. She taught several pre-retirement classes for the University of Tennessee at Nashville, for which she received commendations.
In 1979, she moved with Russ Davis to Alexandria, Virginia, for his job with the U.S Census Bureau in Suitland, Maryland. She did several part-time jobs there culminating in a retail job at J.C. Penny's in Alexandria. She later was a manager of a Crown Bookstore in Alexandria. Afterwards, she did a variety of parttime jobs in the D.C. area followed by doing protective care work for her mother and members of her husband's family.
Her mother was Russell Elliott Wiley, and her father was Dr. Chan Ewing. When she married Russ Davis in April 1992, her father was in attendance at the clerk's office in Alexandria, Virginia. She had a brother and two sisters whom Russ helped her mother raise—David Wiley, Linda Carter, and Muffy Trower.
Russ Wiley was a partisan Democrat with her husband for many years. She served with him as members of Alexandria Democratic Committee (ADC) for many years. She served with him on the ADC Labor Caucus of which he has been the co-chair. She was named an honorary member of the American Federation of Government Employees, her husband's union which she served faithfully for many years. She and her husband won a variety of phone banking annual awards for the Northern Virginia Labor Federation and got to make speeches at their banquets. She knew all the elected leaders in Alexandria, Virginia, and supported them in their elections. She was a wonderful human being and was loved and respected by many people. She will be greatly missed.
A memorial service to celebrate her life will be Saturday, November 15, at 1 p.m. at Del Ray United Methodist Church, 100 E. Windsor Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22301. Rev. Arum Kim will preside. There will be a reception downstairs following the service.