Roby D. Russell, 91, of Elkhart, passed away at 4:15 am, Sunday, January 8, 2012 in Elkhart Hospice House, Elkhart. Roby was born on October 13, 1920, in Trumann, AR, the son of the late John I. and Emma (Orr) Russell. He married Betty L. Davies on February 28, 1946. She passed away January 1, 2000. He then married Helen L. Grove on May 19, 2001.
He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, serving on the USS Amycus, a converted Landing Ship Tank. He was in the Dutch New Guinea when the war ended. He served in Caledonia, the Philippines and in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia. He moved to Elkhart in 1945 and this has been his home except for 3 years while he lived in Alabama.
He is survived by his wife, Helen, a daughter, Diana Miller of Lakeville, two sons, Dewayne (Pat) Russell of Michigan City, IN and Dennis (Debbie) Russell of Niles, MI, nine grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. He is also survived by a brother, Paul (Helen) Russell of Elkhart. He is preceded in death by four brothers and three sisters.
Roby retired from the Federal Paper Board Company in 1982. His hobbies were gardening and fishing. He was a former member of First Baptist Church and presently of Grace Bible Church.
Visitation will be held from 5:00-8:00 pm, Wednesday, January 11, 2012 in Chapel Hill Funeral Home, 10776 McKinley Highway, Osceola. Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 am, Thursday, January 12, 2012 in the funeral home. Rev. Mike Fisher, pastor of Grace Bible Church, will officiate. Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Osceola.

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