Friday, October 24, 2008
John K. Russell, 73, a retired journalist and Justice Department spokesman, died Oct. 18 of lung cancer at Capital Hospice in
Arlington County. He was an Arlington resident. In 1964, Mr. Russell became the Washington correspondent for the Scripps
Howard newspaper chain, covering Kentucky and Ohio news on Capitol Hill, as well as various federal offices and the White
House.
He worked on the unsuccessful 1970 Senate campaign of Rep. Thomas Kleppe (R-N.D.) and then was a press aide to Rep.
William Keating (R-Ohio).
In 1973, he joined the Justice Department's public information office and was a spokesman for the Criminal Division until 1981.
He then became a special assistant in the Nazi-hunting Office of Special Investigations within the Justice Department.
He worked for the Office of International Affairs before retiring in 2000.
John Kavanaugh Russell was born in New York and lived in Alexandria during World War II. He attended Gonzaga College High
School in the District before graduating from the American School in Tokyo. He took an around-the-world tour by ship before
enrolling at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1953.
At U-Va., he was a member of the track team and worked for the Cavalier Daily college newspaper. He was too busy to get a
degree, his daughter said.
He began his journalism career as a reporter with the Houston Press.
In retirement, he volunteered with the Arlington visitors center and Travelers Aid at Reagan National Airport. He also was a
member of Alcoholics Anonymous for more than eight years.
His first marriage, to Sylvia Seeley Russell, ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Neille Mallon Russell of Arlington; three children from his first marriage, Dale Russell
Shaw of Earlysville, Va., Hollis Russell Davis of Virginia Beach and Karen Russell Eanes of Ashburn; a sister, Joan Russell
Sanchez of Sykesville, Md.; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
-- Joe Holley