John W. Russell Jr. (January 8, 1923 – December 5, 2015) was an American politician.
He was raised in
Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Upon graduation from high school Russell attended the
Oklahoma Military Academy. He then joined the
45th Infantry Division, which saw action in the European theatre of
World War II and the
Korean War. Russell earned a degree from the
University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1949, and passed the bar that same year. He retired from the military in 1976, with the rank of colonel.
Russell was a member of the
Oklahoma House of Representatives
The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...
between 1947 and 1951. A Democrat from
Okmulgee County
Okmulgee County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,069. The county seat is Okmulgee. Located within the Muscogee Nation Reservation, the county was created at statehood in 1907. The name O ...
, Russell served as speaker pro tempore in 1949. In 1952, Russell was elected to the
Oklahoma Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.[Wagoner County
Wagoner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,981. Its county seat is Wagoner.
Wagoner County is included in the Tulsa metropolitan statistical area.
History
According to archa ...]
. He was named assistant district attorney in 1972, and promoted to district attorney four years later, serving Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah, and Wagoner counties until retirement in 1983. Russell was active in local civic organizations based in
Wagoner, Oklahoma, and a
Scottish Rite Freemason. He died in
Ponca City, Oklahoma, on December 5, 2015, aged 92.
References
1923 births
2015 deaths
Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
Democratic Party Oklahoma state senators
District attorneys in Oklahoma
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army personnel of the Korean War
Rogers State University alumni
University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni
American Freemasons
People from Wagoner, Oklahoma
People from Okmulgee, Oklahoma
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
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