Irene Russell born near Midway Arkansas, on September 15, 1915 came to Oklahoma by covered wagon when she was 4 years old. She remembers wearing a penny around her neck. She was told it was to keep her nose from bleeding. She attended Taloka School and played basketball in junior high. At the age of 17 she married Carl M. Russell on October 17, 1933. Carl was inducted into the Army and on his discharge they both went to work for Douglas Aircraft. Irene "buck rivets" as she was the only one on her crew small enough to fit inside the tail of the aircraft. The plant was closed at the end of World War II and they returned to reside in Stigler, Oklahoma. Then with Irene's brother Harman McDaniel, they open the McDaniel Grocery Store. Irene and her sister-in-law Lillian ran the Grocery Store, while the boys ran the welding shop and garage. Douglas Aircraft began gearing up for more production and recruited Carl to come back to work. After moving back to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Irene also applied at Douglas. She was told if she could type they would hire her for the office. In her words, "I got in my Pontiac and drove straight to the Tulsa Business College. I did not even go home!" She completed typing classes by September 9th, 1955. She worked for Douglas until they cut production and laid her off. In 1959, Irene found a lump in her breast. She underwent a radical mastectomy and cobalt treatment. One night after the surgery, she was praying. She said she felt the power of the Holy Spirit come over her. "When God gets ahold of you there is no doubt about it. I felt the Spirit from my head to my toes. I knew right then I had more to do in this life." Irene had a strong entrepreneurial spirit. She became a saleswoman for encyclopedias and later for Sara Coventry Jewelry. When she was selling jewelry, Carl said she was her own best customer! In 1975 Carl and Irene started construction on a home in Stigler. In 1976 they returned to Stigler. After Carl passed away, Irene began making custom drapes, in the Stigler area. Her reputation for high quality work kept her sewing sometimes 18 hours a day. Irene was an active member of the Stigler Senior Citizens group. She has held every office in that organization from President to Secretary. She is a member of First Assembly of God Church in Stigler Oklahoma. Every child should have an Aunt Irene and Uncle Carl in their life as they both loved and loved to spoil children. Her nieces and nephews remember her as a woman whose abounding love and generosity was expressed, as "I love you, clean or dirty, wet or dry, dumb or stupid. When she said stupid she realized she meant smart and tried to correct it. Too late, a family legend was born! Irene is survived by her nieces, Laurie Williamson, Mary Ann Lovett, and Dorothy Barnes, her nephew, Wily Miller, and her great nephews, Rann Lovett, Michael and Jacob McDaniel. Preceding Irene in death are her husband Carl; mother and father, Dolly and Earl McDaniel; her siblings, Alta Warford and husband Raymond, Herman McDaniel and wife Lillian, Effie Miller and husband Roy, Ruth Williamson and husband Gene. Memorial contributions may be made to the McFarlin United Methodist Church, Norman, Oklahoma or Stigler First Assembly of God Church. Service will be Nov. 11, 2012 at 1 p.m. at Mallory Chapel with interment at Antioch Cemetery.