A Tribute to Margaret Russell
by Lee Hunt
“There wasn’t anything not to like about Margaret Russell”. Margaret’s friend, Marg Hart spoke those words, but the same sentiment would have been shared by her family, gardening friends, University of Calgary colleagues and students.
Margaret died at age 73 on September 4, 2025, in the loving presence of her husband Bill and son Charles. She had struggled with Parkinson’s disease for many years.
Margaret lived in Calgary almost all of her life, graduated from William Aberhart High School then U of C, and resided in Brentwood since 1993.
Margaret had a number of interests. She was particularly fond of gardening and plants. At the Brentwood Community Garden where she had a plot for about ten years, she was dubbed “the compost guru” for her particular expertise in that area. Margaret was also an avid reader with a penchant for crime novels. She was especially fond of cats as well.
Academically, Margaret attended U of C where she obtained her B.Sc., M.D., and Ph.D. She achieved the latter in Epidemiology in 1989. In that same year, Margaret joined the U of C Faculty of Medicine (now the Cumming School of Medicine). Her obituary explains that much of her focus was on “preventive medicine advocacy and epidemiological knowledge, [and] she was frequently sought by media including during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Research work was particularly important to Margaret as was her relationship with local Hutterite communities. I’m told that in addition to research on vaccination programs for the Hutterite children, Margaret also enjoyed working in the fields alongside colony members.
That “hands on” work in the fields is all part of what Marg Hart referred to as Margaret’s “willingness to learn” plus her “modest and unassuming nature.”
In tribute to Margaret, a number of her friends have “created a shrine on her desk using potted plants” (Bill). At U of C, the campus flag was lowered to half-mast on October 3. In The Calgary Herald Guestbook, former colleague Crystal Elliott reflected on Margaret as “a tremendous asset to the Department of Community Health Science – I had deep respect for her”.
We at the Bugle extend our condolences to Bill and Charles plus to Margaret’s extended family, friends, and colleagues in the loss of such a caring, admirable human being. She will be greatly missed.
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