Former Alachua County School Board member Mildred Russell dies of cancer

Former Alachua County School Board member Mildred Russell died Friday morning surrounded by loved ones following a battle with cancer. She was 75.

Mildred was appointed to the school board District 2 seat in August 2021 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about three months after board member Diyonne McGraw was removed from office for living outside her district.

“I’m excited about this opportunity. I feel very grateful for the governor having confidence in me to serve our country and our families and children in this way,” she told The Sun shortly after taking office.

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McGraw regained the seat the following year.

Russell wrote a column to The Sun in July 2022, asking for community members to vote for her as school board member, in which she stated that the learning gap, student behavior and a lack of parent involvement in classroom education were problems in Alachua County schools. Her main goal, Russell said, was to improve student outcomes and provide students with a world-class education.

Before her appointment to the board, Russell started Miracle Life Ministries, an evangelical organization, with her husband, Rusty Russell, in 1990. They also started churches in Athens, Georgia, and Oxford, England.

“Mildred Cooper Russell has passed into Heaven’s Glory Cloud at 5:28 AM today … What a glorious day for her …” Rusty Russell wrote on social media.

Russell, born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on Nov. 10, 1948, grew up in Paducah, Kentucky. In a prior column Russell said the teachers at her rural, Western Kentucky schools inspired her love of learning.

Locally, Russell, who had lived in Gainesville more than 40 years, spent time tutoring at the Duval Early Learning Academy, and also served as the county chair for John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008. In 2004, she served at the county chair for President George W. Bush’s campaign.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Former Alachua County School Board member Mildred Russell dies cancer