John S. Russell

1954 - 2021

John Spotswood Russell
October 22, 1954 - November 30, 2021
Raleigh, North Carolina - John Spotswood Russell, 67, passed away on November 30, 2021. John was the proverbial Renaissance man, who had a distinguished career as a lawyer while writing two critically acclaimed novels, leading a successful opera company, and entertaining a wide circle of friends. John struck all who knew him with his elegance, dignity and poise and was the sort of friend and companion prized by anyone who aspires to a thoughtful life. The breadth of his interest and intellect can be captured by the range of the precarious stack of books on his bedside table. As this is written, that tower includes the Bible, CS Lewis, Ben Hogan's Five Lessons, Dante's Purgatorio, War and Peace, Blaise Pascal's Pensées, Gerard Manley Hopkins's The Major Works, and a book of John Donne's poetry.
John was born in Greensboro on October 22, 1954, and was a proud alumnus of Grimsley High School where he was a three-sport athlete. He studied English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated with highest honors, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Golden Fleece, and served as Fiction Editor of the Cellar Door literary magazine and editor of the Daily Tar Heel. John went on to receive a Master's Degree in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University and worked for four years in publishing in New York, where he worked for Houghton Mifflin as the youngest editor ever hired at that time.
John left publishing to enroll in Harvard Law School where he graduated with honors in 1985. He moved to Raleigh to join the law firm of Moore &Van Allen and practiced corporate law there for 12 years until he was named Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Administrative Officer of Quintiles Transnational Corporation. In 2008, John left Quintiles to become a partner in the Life Science Practice of the global law firm K&L Gates, where he practiced until his retirement in 2017.
John served on many boards and advisories, including the North Carolina Railroad, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO), Elon Law School, the Center for Studies of the American South, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and countless others. He was an active and faithful member of Christ Church, Raleigh.
John was a passionate North Carolinian, and his two novels "Favorite Sons" (1992) and "All the Right Circles" (2019) were both incisive examinations of North Carolina politics, society and history. John took understandable pride in having written these books while meeting the demands of a successful legal career – a testament to his profound love of literature and writing. His fondness for North Carolina was also regularly on display through his passion for his beloved UNC Tar Heels.
Following in the footsteps of his mother Peggy, who was an accomplished opera singer and founded an opera company in Greensboro, John played an instrumental role in the formation and growth of the Opera Company of North Carolina and its evolution into North Carolina Opera. There were few things he enjoyed more than the thrill of the opening night of a new performance.
John was the adoring and devoted father to Caroline, Taylor and Katie. Any time spent with them - driving to soccer, preparing a room-sized historical timeline, analyzing Civil War battle decisions - filled his heart. They were his everlasting pride and joy. In 2009, John married Kelley, and the family he cherished became even bigger. Kelley and John were inseparable, made each other better, and shared a great love that warmed and nurtured those around them. Their lives with their children spanned many places they loved, including Bald Head Island, Sparta, NC, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where they spent countless hours hiking, reading, and writing (John). And of course, playing golf.
John's final days were spent surrounded by the most important people in his life. During what turned out to be his final hours, his family laughed, prayed, cried and threatened to sing so that he would know he was loved and adored, and that his love had been received by everyone there.
He will be forever missed by his beloved wife Kelley, children Caroline and husband Justin, Taylor and husband John, Katie and husband Charlie, and Roddy, Fields and Bess; as well as his beloved sister Susan and wife Beth, and grandsons George and Oliver and dear father, John B. Russell.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 11th at 2:00 PM at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 E. Edenton St, Raleigh, NC.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Christ Church Outreach (https://ccral.org/outreach/) , North Carolina Opera (https://www.ncopera.org/), or the Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill
(https://library.unc.edu/wilson/).
Services are being handled by Brown-Wynne, Saint Mary's St., Raleigh.