Judge Daniel J. Russell

Judge Daniel J. Russell of Elizabeth, 90, beloved husband for 61 years of the late Anne P. Russell (nee Gleason) passed away on December 18th. Relatives and friends are invited to gather on Tuesday, December 20th from 4:00-8:00 PM at the Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave, Westfield. A mass of Christian burial will be offered on Wednesday, December 21 at 10:00 AM at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church, 200 Monmouth Road, Elizabeth. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. 

Judge Russell was born in Newark to Daniel and Helen (Ryan) Russell. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth and was a longtime member of the Class of 1950 reunion committee. He graduated from Seton Hall University after which he served in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence operator at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Upon discharge he worked for Lehman Brothers in New York and two years later entered Seton Hall Law School, balancing studies, marriage, fatherhood, and  employment with the FBI. After graduating he joined the law firm of Sauer & Boyle. In 1965 he co-founded the Salmon & Russell law firm which he managed until 1995. In 1993 he was appointed as a judge of the Elizabeth Municipal Court where he served until 2020. He also sat as a substitute judge in several Union County towns and was an acting judge in the Superior Court central judicial processing unit.  

Judge Russell served St. Genevieve’s Church for more than sixty years as a Sunday school teacher, lector, and Eucharistic Minister.  He chaired the Newark Archdiocese Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and in 1966 was named to the CCD national lay committee. He was also very active with the worldwide Cursillo movement and volunteered many hours with the New York Summer in the City program. 

Athletics was another big part of his life. Judge Russell was a competitive long-distance runner completing 17 marathons with a personal best time of 2:38 at the Boston Marathon in 1980. He also loved camping and hiking and participated in many Sierra Club outings throughout the American West, Northeast and Alaska. In his later years, he took up country dancing with the same determination and drive and was actively dancing well into his eighties.  

His local community activities included coaching biddy basketball at the YMHA and serving as counsel to the Elmora Youth Baseball League. He regularly attended the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick annual dinner and the Kidney Foundation Ball. With his wife Anne, he enjoyed dance, theatre, opera and other cultural activities throughout New Jersey and New York.  Above all, he was a supporting father and grandfather who attended plays, games, debates, and other school events with his family. 

Judge Russell is survived by son Daniel and his wife Maya of Leiden, The Netherlands, John of Elizabeth, Killeen Brettmann of Aspen, CO, James and his wife Natalie of Cranford, and cherished grandchildren Katherine, Chloe, James (J.T.) and Eryn.  He is also survived by sister-in-law Mary Finan and nephews Thomas, Tim (and wife Diane), Gregory and niece Cheryl Gleason. He was predeceased by son Patrick and son-in-law Cory Brettmann.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Overlook Foundation of Atlantic Health System.

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