Sister Mary Alan Russell, OP

Springfield Dominican Sister M. Alan Russel died May 2, 2019, at Sacred Heart Convent, Springfield, Ill. She was born in Springfield in 1931, the only child of Leslie and Margaret (Cusker) Russell, who named her Audree Ellen. She made her profession of vows in 1951 at Sacred Heart Convent, Springfield.

Sister M. Alan will be remembered by hundreds of high school graduates as a favorite math teacher. She first taught junior high school and high school math at St. Augustine, Richmond, Mich., 1966-1968. From 1969-1983 she taught math at Sacred Heart Academy, and from 1983-1989 she taught at Rosary High School, Aurora. In 1989 she moved to Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights, where she taught math until 2005, interrupted in 1998 by a leave of absence for family care.

Her other ministry assignments included middle school or junior high teaching in Evergreen Park, Chicago, Springfield, Philo, and Bethalto. From 2005-2008 she was prioress at Sacred Heart Convent in Springfield. From then until illness slowed her down in 2015, she joyfully and faithfully cared for her sisters and coworkers at the motherhouse, taking her turn as receptionist, accompanying sisters to appointments, and caring for the needs of the large community.

Sister M. Alan was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by cousins Norine Hileman and Richard Schultz, Fox Lake, Ill.; Jackie Hanson, Grayslake, Ill., and Tom Cusker, Helena, Ala.