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Birth:          19 Mar 1916 Hilo, Haw.
Death:          23 Jul 2001 Honolulu, Haw.

Notes
http://genealogytrails.com/hawaii/hawaii/bio2.htm
1920 in South Hilo, Haw.
US Soc Sec Apps and Claims on ancestry
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2001/07/28/news/story14.html
J. Ward Russell, a former state senator and Hawaiian Telephone Co. executive who 
was active in various community organizations, has died. He was 84.
Russell died July 23 at One Kalakaua Senior Living in Honolulu, said his cousin Joy 
Woolaway.

"He was the most kind, sweet, generous, most lovable man," Woolaway said. "We 
questioned if he ever slept because of all the activities he was involved in."

Russell retired from Hawaiian Tel in 1979 after 46 years with the company.

A member of the territorial Legislature from 1951 to 1954 and again from 1956 to 1959, 
Russell served as a state senator from 1959 to 1963.

Throughout his life he was active in community service, taking on leadership roles in 
at least 25 service and civic organizations, including Friends of Iolani Palace, the 
Hawaii Council on Crime and Delinquency, the Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, the 
Honolulu Community Theatre, the Downtown Improvement Association and the 
Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association.

Born in Hilo, he graduated from Punahou School in 1933 and later served as a 
president and board member of the Punahou Alumni Association.

He received the group's highest honor, the "O" in Life, in 1982, in recognition of his 
community service.

A longtime active member of the Republican Party, he was asked to run for mayor in 
1976 but declined.

Russell is survived by Woolaway and her brother, Stanley; first cousin Jane Bray and 
her daughter, Sila; and cousins Carroll Smith Coke and Kihei DeSilva.

A memorial Mass is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at St. Andrew's Cathedral in 
Honolulu, with scattering of ashes scheduled for the following day at 8:30 a.m. at the 
Outrigger Canoe Club.

http://www.outriggercanoeclubsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/James-
Ward-Russell.pdf
Life Member: J. Ward Russell
By Mary Machado
At the entrance to the Outrigger Canoe Club, there is a bronze plaque inscribed with 
the words: "Let this be a place . . . where good fellowship and aloha prevail, and 
where the sports of Old Hawaii shall always have a home."
The date is January, 1964 and the President , J. Ward Russell.
The ideals of the inscription are embodied in the man who guided the Club during the 
critical period preceding and during the building of the Diamond Head Club.
Ward tells it this way: 
" It was one of the most interesting times negotiating the move, working with the 
membership, helping them to understand there was really no viable alternative. There 
was no unanimous agreement by any means as to what should be done. "
Born in Hilo at Pukihae overlooking Hilo Bay, Ward was introduced early to the OCC 
by his aunt, Josephine Pratt Paris, a champion surfer, in fact, the first champion 
woman surfer to be so acknowledged by the OCC.
His first surfboard was a redwood plank. A graduate of Punahou School, Ward 
originally planned to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become 
a lawyer.
As Ward explains, "circumstances prevailed ... " including the passing of both his 
parents. In spite of his attraction to the Club, it wasn't for many years, until after World 
War II, that he became a member of the OCC.
Almost immediately, he was asked to serve on the Board of Directors, followed by his 
election in 1960 as president of the Club.
[photo] 1. Ward Russell, right, joined Duke Kahanamoku and the Rev. Abraham Akaka 
at the dedication of the present Club in Januaf)', 1964.
In the polit ical arena, he served four terms in the Territorial House of Representatives 
and one term as a member of the first State Senate. Ward
was accustomed to controversy.
He describes in vivid detail his role in support of Statehood, which included journeys 
to Washington, D.C. on two separate occasions, the second time having been 
selected by the leadership of the Territorial House to testify before the Senate and 
House Congressional Co111mittees on Territorial and Insular Affairs. 
He shares some very interesting insights into the drama of those days before 
Statehood, culminating in the long-awaited call from Washington, D.C. with the cryptic 
message, "We're in," meaning that Statehood for Hawaii had been approved.
The deliberations, the carefully considered camment , the moderation, qualities which 
tracked Ward into leadership posit ions in business and politics, are readily apparent 
even today. These were the qualities which were so very important during the 
transition period between the move from the old site to the present Clubhouse site.
Read the final chapters of the book, The Outrigger: A History of the Outrigger
Canoe Club, by Harold Yost, wherein the planning of the project is detailed.
Ward's style is that of the true gentleman, genial, engaging, with an elan that 
epitomizes the essence of the OCC. He continues to serve the OCC as a member of 
the Historical Committee with his wealth of Hawaiiana available for instant recall 
With pride and conviction, Ward comments, "The OCC is one of the finest Clubs in the 
world."
In recognition of Ward's outstanding contributions in helping to make it so, the OCC 
voted Life Membership for this "Man for all seasons."
1940 in Honolulu, Haw. telephone engineer

Parents
RUSSELL James Ward (12 Apr 1882 - 1931)
PRATT Eunice Cothren (Sep 1886 - 1930)

Siblings
RUSSELL James Ward ("J. Ward") (19 Mar 1916 - 23 Jul 2001)

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