Thomas Gale Russell, 77, Lawson, passed away May 18, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. Visitation will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, at Lawson Baptist Church. Services will follow at 2:00 p.m. Private family burial will be at Salem Christian Union Church. Tom was born August 11, 1944, in Imboden, Ark., the son of John “Willie” and Grace Russell. He was raised in Arkansas and was married to Twylla McCoin on June 12, 1965, in Afton, Oklahoma. Tom served in the Army from 1966 to 1968, after which he went to work for AT&T as a lineman. In that position, he traveled several states from 1968 to 1977. In 1977 he was promoted to management in Kansas City and later was employed as an outside plant engineer. He retired from AT&T in 1989 and soon after he began working as a Rite of Way Consultant for Coates Field Service. In 1991, Tom moved his family to Oklahoma to fulfill his dream of being a cattle farmer. He was proud of and very successful with his 190 acres and his cattle operation. Tom retired from the cattle business in 2019 and moved to Lawson to be a full-time, fun-time grandpa. He spent time teaching another generation how to drive a tractor and UTV and he walked both his granddaughters down the aisle. Tom touched 100s of young people with his heart, his fun, his knowledge, his laughter, his dancing and his love. The word “stranger” was not in his vocabulary and his generosity with time or financial resources was amazing. He enjoyed being a baseball coach and umpire and was president of the Lawson Baseball Association at one time. He also helped put in the high school ballfield. He was also an Optimist Club board member. Tom was preceded in death by his parents; three sisters, Barbara Russell, Mary Slusher and Marsha Thomas; two brothers, Glenn Russell and John Calvin Russell; and one son, Darrell Russell. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Twylla; daughter, Sherry Russell (Mark); daughter-in-law, Christy Russell; grandchildren, Dustin (Jess) Humble, Hunter (Isaiah) Rodriguez, William (Ashley) Humble and Logan (Gage) Franklin; and great-grandchildren, Joshua, Skylar, Aubree, Maverick, Grayson and Dawson.